Roe v. Wade at 40: Lost Ground and the Moment to Reclaim It

As 2012 came to a close, one of the last attacks on reproductive freedom in Arizona was in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where the state of Arizona fought to defund Planned Parenthood. The state was appealing an injunction against HB2800, a new measure that would strip funding for family planning services from any health care facility that provides abortions.


The 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade should serve as a call to action to defend reproductive freedom.


Following a year that saw more state-level legislation to restrict abortion access than any year in the last three decades, 2012 saw no reprieve. Besides HB2800, Arizona lawmakers voted on bills that barred employer coverage for birth control and access to medically necessary abortions. In response to part of the latter bill, the Arizona Department of Health Service’s website added a new section on abortion, which made its debut late last year, called “A Woman’s Right to Know” — a guide that employed scare tactics and other manipulation to deter women from seeking abortions.

Arizona reflected what was happening nationally. According to a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute, Arizona has joined a new majority of states that are “solidly hostile to abortion rights.” In 2000, a third of women of reproductive age lived in such states. Today, more than half do. Since 2000, the number of states considered hostile to abortion doubled from 13 to 26. Continue reading

TAKE ACTION: Anti-Choice Bill in House Committee TOMORROW!

Tell the House Health Committee: VOTE NO on HB2416!

HB2416 will be voted on in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday! The legislators on this committee need to hear from you TODAY!

They are going too far!  And they are not done. This bill will radically alter health care availability in Arizona.  Rural women will lose access to abortion entirely, as this bill will effectively ban abortion-by-pill, which is the only form of care outside Phoenix and Tucson.  And, amazingly, this proposal aims to stop abortion early in pregnancy, since abortion-by-pill is used by women in the 6th to the 9th week of pregnancy.

Click here to read more information and Planned Parenthood’s analysis of HB2416, and take action by sending a letter to the House Health and Human Services Committee. Then use our share buttons at the bottom of this post to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.