The measure voters thought defended women now shields the practices a whistleblower described as darkness, blood, and money.
Many Arizonans walked into voting booths in 2024 believing they were standing up for women. They cast their votes for Proposition 139 under the guise of “freedom” and “healthcare.” But as the dust settles, reality has come into focus.
Voters did not buy protection for women.
They handed Planned Parenthood a constitutional license to kill.
Mayra Rodriguez, a former Planned Parenthood director here in Arizona, recently pulled back the curtain on the industry’s operations. Many of you are familiar with Mayra’s courageous whistleblowing, but her latest testimony exposes a depth of depravity that is difficult to stomach. She described the soul-crushing routine of signing off on “500 bodies a week to be cremated with trash from hospitals.”
This was never about freedom. As Mayra put it, “What you have been selling, it’s pain and darkness and it’s bloody, and it’s all about money.”
With the National March for Life taking place today in Washington, D.C., we pause to look back at what Prop 139 actually does to our state. While tens of thousands march to defend the unborn, our state constitution has been weaponized to shield the very industry that profits from their destruction.
The Quota System
The abortion industry operates on a business model that demands volume. Rodriguez revealed that as a director, she faced a daily quota of 45 to 50 abortions. This pressure incentivized staff to “upsell abortion” to vulnerable women.
This financial incentive explains why Planned Parenthood Action spent $3 million to pass Prop 139. They were not investing in women’s health; they were securing their revenue stream. By enshrining a “fundamental right to abortion” in our state constitution, they effectively removed the legislative guardrails that kept their profit-driven practices in check.
“Safer than Tylenol”
The industry’s disregard for safety extends far beyond quotas. While Planned Parenthood tells the public that chemical abortion pills are “safer than Tylenol,” a claim that has triggered lawsuits from Attorneys General in Florida and Missouri, the reality inside the clinics tells a different story.
Rodriguez recounted terrifying calls from young women who had taken these pills. They called the clinic bleeding profusely, convinced they were dying. The standard protocol? Staff were instructed to dismiss these fears and tell the women to “take ibuprofen.” When women called in horror after seeing their fully formed babies, they were told to “flush and don’t look.”
This is the “healthcare” Prop 139 protects.
In Florida, the State Attorney General is suing Planned Parenthood for RICO violations, alleging they misled women about the risks of these drugs for profit. In Missouri, the Attorney General is holding them accountable for downplaying the fact that nearly 5% of women end up in the emergency room after taking these pills. Yet, here in Arizona, Prop 139 threatens to strip away our ability to enforce safety standards that would prevent these very harms.
Unregulated Danger
Prop 139 does not just legalize abortion; it invites dangerous deregulation, dismantling the safety standards that stand between vulnerable women and profits for Planned Parenthood. The physical risks are undeniable. Abortion often leads to severe complications, including hemorrhage, life-threatening sepsis, uterine perforation, and the incomplete evacuation of the unborn baby.
Without laws requiring physician oversight and ultrasounds, women are left vulnerable to undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies and severe complications. The industry knows that chemical abortions are four times more likely to result in complications than surgical ones, yet they push for deregulation to streamline their “500 bodies a week” quota.
Mayra’s full account of what happens behind those clinic doors is incredibly difficult to read. The specific instances of negligence she witnessed, driven by a desire to rush procedures and maximize profit, are too disturbing to detail here in Five Minutes for Families. However, for those willing to confront the unvarnished truth of what the abortion industry hides, her full interview and story are available here. It exposes the inevitable, brutal result of putting profit margins ahead of patient care.
Abortion is not healthcare; it is the ending of a unique human life that always leaves the mother physically and psychologically scarred. Arizonans were sold a narrative of compassion, but the reality is a deregulated industry that views safety protocols as obstacles to revenue. We must not let the “fundamental right” to profit supersede the fundamental right to life and safety.
Major ESA Milestone!
While we confront the challenges facing the sanctity of life, we must also pause to celebrate a monumental victory for Arizona families. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program has officially surpassed a historic milestone: Over 100,000 Students have officially enrolled in the program for the 2025-26 school year.
This is not just a number. It represents 100,000 children whose parents have been empowered to choose the learning environment that best meets their unique needs. It represents a rejection of the one-size-fits-all model in favor of true educational freedom.
Center for Arizona Policy was instrumental in fighting for this legislation because we believe the fundamental right to direct a child’s education belongs to parents, not the state. Today, Arizona leads the nation in school choice, proving that when families are given freedom, our children thrive.
ICYMI
Watch the March For Life Live (Started at 9:00 a.m. Arizona Time)
See how the data strongly counters Governor Hobbs’ claim on ESAs