FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2022
Contact: Mary Owens, [email protected]
New Law Estimated to Save 900 Lives a Year at a Point When Science Shows Unborn Babies Feel Pain
Washington, D.C. – The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) celebrated today as Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) signed S.B. 1164 into law to stop late abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), SBA List’s research arm, estimates that 896 abortions at 15 weeks’ gestation or later were performed on Arizona residents in 2020 (gestational age is not reported for nonresidents).
SBA List State Policy Director Sue Liebel praised Ducey and the Arizona Legislature, saying:
“We thank Governor Ducey for delivering a swift victory for women and children. The new law signed today will save approximately 900 lives a year by stopping barbaric late abortions. In Arizona and across America, life is winning, with hundreds of pro-life measures introduced in legislatures nationwide this year. Ahead of a decision in the Dobbs Supreme Court case, momentum is growing to modernize our laws and remove the United States from the tiny club of nations – including China and North Korea – that allow abortion on demand well after unborn children feel pain, even up to birth. Like the overwhelming majority of Americans, Arizonans reject this extreme status quo. We are grateful to State Senator Nancy Barto, a member of our National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus, and all our local allies for their unrelenting advocacy and we hope that the people and their elected representatives in every state will soon have their right to protect unborn children and their mothers restored.”
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case involving a Mississippi law that limits abortion after 15 weeks, the Supreme Court will address whether all pre-viability abortion limits are unconstitutional. A decision is expected in the spring or summer of 2022.
Alternatives to Abortion: CLI finds that Arizona families are served by more than 40 pro-life pregnancy centers across the state. Nationwide, 2,700 pro-life pregnancy centers nationwide served almost two million people in 2019, at an estimated value of nearly $270 million, providing vital services typically at no cost to women and their families.
SBA List is a network of 900,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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