Growing tensions surrounding reproductive rights have been reflected in the political proceedings of many states that have recently added restrictions on abortion laws, particularly in Arizona, where a near-total ban on abortions dating back to 1864 has never been repealed in the state and is a looming possibility for legislation.
Democratic Sen. Eva Burch of Mesa, publicly declared her stance on the issue during a speech on Monday when she announced she was going to get an abortion because he pregnancy was no longer viable. She later shared that she wanted to spread awareness to her colleagues and the public about the practical effects of abortion restrictions passed over the years.
The rookie lawmaker, who used to work as a nurse practitioner at a women’s health clinic, talked about her “rough journey” with fertility and also recounted a tragic miscarriage she experienced.
Simultaneously, Burch, 43, criticized restrictions in Arizona as being out-of-touch and said the state law requires an ultrasound that wasn’t even ordered by her doctor. Additionally, she claimed she was fed disinformation about alternatives to abortion.
As someone who has given birth to two sons and also had an abortion while running for office in 2022, she said she understands why women who have had an abortion want to keep it private, but also expressed that she wants the public to know that these hardships with reproductive rights and issues are more common than they might think.
“It was an opportunity for me to highlight what we’re experiencing here in Arizona and how the laws that we pass in Arizona actually do impact people in practice and not just in theory,” Burch said in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday.
So far, two abortion bills proposed this year by Democrats haven’t received committee hearings, including one that would repeal a pre-statehood law from 1864 that criminalizes nearly all abortions.
The Arizona Supreme Court is currently deliberating the fate of this law, which many believe should be left for the voting public to decide.
In a 2022 ruling, a lower court decided that doctors can’t be charged for performing an abortion in the first 15 weeks of a pregnancy because other Arizona laws over the years have allowed them to provide abortions, but the definitive right to the procedure in the state remains something that is up in the air.
Burch, who is seeking re-election next year, is a part of organizers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee abortion rights until a fetus could survive outside the womb, which is typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The proposed amendment, which requires 384,000 signatures by July before Arizona turns it over to voters in November, would also allow later abortions to save a mother’s life or to protect her physical/mental health.
