Just now, the Arizona Supreme Court issued its opinion in
Parenthood Females upholding one of the most extreme abortion bans
in the country.
And while it is currently stayed,
we continue to live under an unacceptable ban,
a law that still strips Arizonans of their personal autonomy
and has no exceptions for women who are the victims
of rape or incest or any regard for pregnancy complications.
Let me be clear, Arizona's 2022 abortion ban is extreme
and hurts women.
And the near total Civil War era ban that continues
to hang over our heads only serves to create more
chaos for women and doctors in our state.
I'm State Senator Eva Birch.
A couple weeks ago.
I had an abortion.
A safe, legal abortion here in Arizona for a pregnancy,
and I very much want it.
A pregnancy that failed, like many of my pregnancies before
it.
An embryo that was dying and a miscarriage that was
destined to happen.
Somebody took care of me.
Somebody gave me a procedure so that I wouldn't have
to experience another miscarriage.
The pain, the mess, the discomfort.
And now we're talking about whether or not we should
put that doctor in jail.
This is outrageous that we would even dignify the consideration
of this type of ban.
This is a devastating day,
but we are far from being defeated.
How? How can we be defeated?
When the vast majority of Arizonans,
9 out of 10, support the right to get an
abortion and want government out of our reproductive healthcare decisions,
I'm here because I signed the governor's brief in this
case and I'm deeply saddened.
Sorry.
Aye, the court's decision.
I participated in this brief because I caught a glimpse
first hand of what happens when abortion is inaccessible and
you need one.
We simply can't tolerate this in our state,
Arizona, that we all love and call home.