Abortion rights group files longshot Arizona initiative bid

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - A newly organized group of abortion rights supporters have filed an initiative that seeks to amend the Arizona Constitution to protect the right to abortion.

The proposed constitutional amendment would forbid any government interference in a woman’s reproductive health decisions and allow abortions until the fetus is viable, considered at about 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

But the effort by a group called Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom is a longshot to make the ballot since the group needs to collect more than 356,000 signatures from registered voters by July 7th.

The move comes in response to the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme court opinion that suggested the high court could be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

That final ruling is expected to be released by late June.