Following a decision on Monday, the campaign to place abortion rights on the November ballot in Arizona will go forward.
Judge Melissa Julian of Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed a case filed by Arizona Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, on the grounds that the signatories to a petition to place abortion rights on the ballot were deceived.
Arizona for Abortion Access collected 820,000 signatures in July from supporters of adding the right to an abortion to the ballot later this year, which is what sparked the controversy.
Arizona Right to Life argues that the petition should be taken off the ballot since it’s possible that some of the signers were unaware of the cause they were supporting.
The judge dismissed the case because, according to Barry Markson, legal analyst for KTAR News 92.3 FM, the arguments made by Arizona Right to Life were either false or insufficient.
Arizona for Abortion Access said in a statement on X that it had “today, triumphed in yet another challenge to our historic, citizen-led campaign, this time defeating the meritless challenge to the 200-word summary that appeared at the top of the petition sheets more than 820,000 Arizona voters signed.”
“We are not shocked by this victory because the arguments put forth by our opponents were purely political talking points with no basis in Arizona law.”
The ruling is subject to appeal by Arizona Right to Life.
“I believe the process will go on and there will be an appeal before the Court of Appeals and possibly an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court before this is finished,” Markson stated. “I would expect to see that this will continue and be on the ballot in November.”
The Arizona Abortion Access Act, if it is passed, will restore abortion rights in Arizona to their pre-Roe v. Wade status in 2022.
Arizona is one of seven states where there will be a ballot question on abortion this year. Abortion-related ballot issues are included in the ballots of Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota.
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