PHOENIX — On Friday, a judge said that GOP lawmakers could not use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters would use to decide whether to vote for a ballot measure that would make abortion easier in the state.
Judge Christopher Whitten of Maricopa County Superior Court said the language offered by the state legislative council is “full of emotion and partisan meaning.” He asked for language that was more “neutral.” The bill wants to make it easier to get an abortion from 15 weeks to 24 weeks, which is when a baby can live outside the womb.
If the woman’s life was in danger or her physical or mental health was at risk, she could get the law changed. It would also stop the state from making or enforcing rules that would make the procedure illegal.
House Speaker Ben Toma of Arizona is a co-chair of the legislative council. He said that the group will go to the state Supreme Court to appeal the court’s ruling.
Toma, a Republican, said, “The decision is just plain wrong and clearly partisan.”
The communications director for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Aaron Thacker, said that the final choice on the ballot itself is still up in the air.
“A lot of different things could still happen,” he said. “The courts have to say whether the counties can put it on the ballot or not, even after the secretary certifies the signatures.”
The group running the ballot measure campaign, Arizona for Abortion Access, sued the council earlier this month over the suggested language. They wanted to use the word “fetus,” but the council said no.
Lawyer General Kris Mayes said in a statement for a “friend of the court” that the council could use either “fetus” or “pregnancy.”
Dawn Penich, communications director for the abortion access group, said, “It’s very important to us that Arizona voters get to learn more about and weigh our measure in fair and accurate language.”
This year, Democrats have talked a lot about abortion rights in their campaigns. Five other states—Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and South Dakota—have also put forward similar bills that would make abortion legal in their state constitutions.
In Arizona, organizers turned in more than twice as many signatures as were needed for the bill to be on the ballot.