On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that current state law protects preborn children from being killed through abortion. This determination will effectively prohibit all elective abortions in the state, potentially saving an estimated 11,500 Arizona children every year.
The ruling—which upheld a state law first established in 1864 and later reenacted in 1977—will effectively outlaw all elective abortion procedures 14 days from today. However, pro-abortion Attorney General Kris Mayes said that she would not enforce the law.
Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, the nation’s leading educational pro-life organization, states:
Thousands of children can now be saved from the violence of abortion in Arizona and have the chance to live. This decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court affirms the reality that preborn children have an inherent right to life supported by existing state laws. The Court’s decision should be applauded and used as a model of honest and prudent jurisprudence that acknowledges the rights of preborn children within their state. I call on the Attorney General of Arizona and all elected officials to do their job to defend Arizona’s legal protections for preborn children.
Arizona has long stood on the side of life, and the fact that Arizonans reenacted this law even after Roe demonstrates their commitment to recognizing the intrinsic human dignity found in every person. We shouldn’t waver from that commitment today. We must proudly declare the truth that children are precious gifts from God and that we should protect the innocent rather than take advantage of the weak and the voiceless. Human life begins at the moment of fertilization, abortion destroys that human life, and is, therefore, a violation of our most fundamental human right. All children, including those with disabilities or conceived in rape, have human rights; the first among these is the right not to be killed. This ruling rightly recognizes life by protecting preborn children and their mothers from more unjust violence against them.
Pro-abortion activists will react against this and bring in money and resources from across the country to undo this progress. The pro-life movement must gain strength from this win and reject the radical pro-abortion amendment expected on Arizona’s ballot in November.
