Republican legislators are saying the phrase “an unborn human being” should remain in the description of an abortion ballot initiative set to be voted on this fall, according to new legal filings.
Earlier this month, Arizona for Abortion Access asked a court to stop the Secretary of State from printing the Legislative Council’s analysis of the group’s abortion-rights initiative until the language is changed. Republican lawmakers counter that the analysis does not have “extraneous adjectives, adverbs or commentary.”
“The people of Arizona, through their elected representatives, have employed the words ‘unborn human being’ to describe the object of an abortion,” the Friday filing reads. “In this context, that phrase is not a pro-choice term or a pro-life term; it is a legal term.”
The analysis in question details what Arizona’s current law says about abortion access. Republicans argue “unborn human being”–a term frequently used by abortion opponents–is a direct quote from the state’s statute.
“An analysis that describes relevant existing laws by quoting them verbatim is quintessence of an impartial summary...the analysis simply parrots the words of A.R.S § 15 36-2322(B) itself.”
Arizona for Abortion Access prefers the term fetus because they believe it is medically accurate and impartial. But, republicans say the medical application of phrases is irrelevant as the analysis is meant for voters–not doctors. They also argue that the use of “fetus” or “unborn human” can be considered loaded depending on which side you are on.
“Even if the Council were tasked with analyzing the issue of abortion, rather than merely summarizing relevant legal texts, there is no one word or phrase to denote the object of an abortion that commands anything approximating a consensus among voters.”
Republican lawmakers like Speaker Ben Toma are asking the court to deny Arizona for Abortion Access’s request as they say the analysis is “factually, legally and logically” impartial.
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