Arizona governor ‘confident’ voters will have chance to enshrine abortion rights in November

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) said Tuesday that she’s confident voters will have the opportunity to enshrine abortion rights in November and reverse a decision from the state’s Supreme Court that makes virtually all abortions in the state illegal.

Hobbs joined CNN’s Anderson Cooper hours after the state’s highest court rejected arguments for a 15-week abortion ban and upheld a law from 1864, before Arizona was even a state.

“Arizonans are going to weigh in on this and enshrine abortion in our state’s constitution in November, and I am confident that, when given the opportunity, they will vote to protect abortion,” she said.

Hobbs said efforts to enshrine abortion access in the state have already surpassed the number of signatures to have ballot access in this year’s election and still have more months to gain support.

“This is a commonsense measure that is supported by the vast majority of Arizonans in terms of protecting access,” she said. “And you know, certainly it’s going to motivate voters in November.”

The Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative may appear on the state's ballot this fall as a constitutional amendment. It would establish the fundamental right to abortion and says the state cannot interfere before the point of fetal viability, the point at which a fetus could survive outside the uterus.

The 4-2 decision Tuesday makes abortion almost entirely illegal in the state. It will make performing or helping a pregnant person obtain an abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. The law will effectively close abortion clinics in the state, but Hobbs said it's still unclear when that would be.

She’s called on the Republican-led legislature in the state to repeal the law immediately. She told Cooper that she’s concerned for the care of people from when the ruling is enforced until the election but will do everything in her power to help.

“Not only will Arizonans have the chance to weigh in on this ballot measure, but they’ll also have a chance to elect new legislators who will fight to protect their freedoms instead of taking them away.”

Hobbs has criticized Republican lawmakers in the state who have not taken her up on repealing the ban since she took office last year.

She has issued an executive order barring county attorneys from prosecuting women and doctors from performing abortions, which still stands. Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) said “no woman or doctor will be prosecuted” while she serves as attorney general.