Arizona abortion ballot initiative could refer to fetuses as “unborn humans”

Judges in Arizona have allowed officials to refer to fetuses as “unborn human beings” in public information leaflets ahead of a statewide abortion vote scheduled for November.

Pro-abortion activists criticized the ruling as “biased,” but the state Supreme Court said the language did not violate fairness rules.

America has been embroiled in a fierce debate over reproductive freedom since the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away abortion rights nationwide two years ago.

The issue will come back into the spotlight on Nov. 5 when Arizona and other states vote on whether to add a woman’s right to an abortion to their state constitutions.

Arizona abortion access advocates said voters would be “bombarded with biased, politically charged language created not by experts but by anti-abortion special interests.”

He added that the state was “deeply disappointed” with the state Supreme Court’s decision to side with state Republican lawmakers.

According to the Associated Press, House Speaker Ben Thomas, a Republican lawmaker, praised the ruling as “righteous” and said the measure was intended to help voters understand the law.

The Supreme Court, whose justices are Republican appointed, has promised to release its full decision at a later date, according to the Associated Press.

Arizona women currently cannot get an abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy, with some exceptions, as a result of a bill introduced by Republicans in 2022.

The law was passed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that stripped abortion rights nationwide and sparked a national debate over reproductive rights.

In Arizona in particular, the issue came to a head earlier this year when state lawmakers battled over a 160-year-old law that has a near-total ban on abortion, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.

The state Supreme Court ruled in April that the 1864 law could go into effect. The move was briefly hailed as a major victory by one anti-abortion group, but state Democrats then rammed through a repeal bill with the help of two Republican senators.

Democrats at both the state and national levels have made abortion a key campaign issue ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

That date marks the presidential election and also the launch date for Democratic-backed abortion bills, such as the one in Arizona that was confirmed to be in place earlier this week.

Many of these voting states are key battlegrounds that could affect the outcome of the presidential election.

Meanwhile, many Republican politicians are siding with religious conservatives who want to ban or restrict abortion in the United States.

In Arizona, the abortion vote will decide whether to amend the state constitution to allow women to terminate pregnancies up to the point where a fetus can survive outside the womb, which is usually around 23 or 24 weeks.

The measure would prevent future laws that would restrict abortion access being introduced, something opponents say goes too far.

The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision allowing a fetus to be considered an “unborn human being” is reminiscent of a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court earlier this year that found frozen embryos can be considered children.

A recent Gallup poll found that most Americans believe abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances.