Extremist Abortion Lawsuit Challenges Laws Protecting Women’s Health and Safety Through Informed Consent and Prohibiting Coerced Abortion

On Monday, Arizona Speaker of the House Steve Montenegro, and Senate President Warren Petersen, officially intervened in a lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks to sweep aside multiple common-sense laws designed to protect women’s health and safety.

The lawsuit was filed last month by several pro-abortion activist groups. The suit pushes the extreme position that Proposition 139, adopted last fall, requires the complete removal of multiple provisions of law. These provisions wereenacted to protect women’s health and prevent abortion from being used for discriminatory or coercive purposes. The challenged laws include 11 enacted laws and two administrative regulations.

Speaker Montenegro and President Petersen are showing tremendous leadership by stepping in and providing a zealous legal defense for these important laws.

The underlying lawsuit shows an extreme agenda that promotes abortion first above every other consideration. Abortion advocates claim that abortion is healthcare but oppose providing essential information to women.  Abortion is a life-changing decision, with long-term consequences and health impacts. Women deserve the full picture.

Moreover, abortion should never be used as a tool for discrimination or coercion. The laws this lawsuit seeks to remove ensure that pre-born babies are not targeted for their race, sex, or genetic abnormality—such as Down Syndrome. They also prohibit coercing or compelling a woman to have an abortion.

Please act today! Thank Speaker Montenegro and President Petersen for their leadership. They can be reached by email at: smontenegro@azleg.gov and wpetersen@azleg.gov.

We will share more detailed coverage of this important case as it makes its way through Arizona’s courts.