Demonstrators march in Phoenix, Arizona, on Jan. 20, 2024. (Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"That support is precisely why we've been able to collect so many signatures already with more than three months still to go. We have well over 3,000 Arizona voters volunteering collecting signatures all over the state," Penich added.
NBC News first reported that Arizona for Abortion Access had gathered 506,892 petition signatures.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, it ended constitutional protections for abortion rights and returned the issue to the states. In the years since, several states have enacted laws to restrict or ban the procedure, while others have adopted state constitutional amendments to enshrine a woman's right to end her pregnancy before it comes to term.
Ballot initiatives guaranteeing abortion rights have succeeded even in red states like Kansas and Ohio. Democrats hope that the Arizona initiative and a similar one in Florida will boost their turnout in key swing states and replicate the victories the party won in the 2022 midterm elections after campaigning to protect so-called reproductive rights.
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVES ABORTION BALLOT INITIATIVE WHILE UPHOLDING 15-WEEK BAN
A protester holds a sign reading "My Body My Choice" at a rally outside the Arizona state Capitol in 2022. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
"Unfortunately, most voters are not told that under this unregulated, unlimited abortion amendment they will lose the required medical doctor, critical and commonsense safety standards for girls and women seeking abortion, and moms and dads will be shut out of their minor daughter’s abortion decision, leaving her to go through the painful and scary process alone," said Cindy Dahlgren, spokeswoman for the It Goes Too Far campaign, which opposes the amendment.
"It's reckless to give up these critical standards just to expand abortion beyond the current 15 weeks and beyond what most voters support. Nearly 80% of voters support limits on abortion," Dahlgren said.
Current Arizona law restricts abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy, with a lone exception to save the mother's life in a medical emergency.
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The Arizona Supreme Court is also reviewing a challenge to an 1864 law, adopted before Arizona became a state, that imposes a near total ban on abortions and makes performing or helping a woman obtain an abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
The proposed amendment would invalidate this law and other abortion restrictions enacted in Arizona.
Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
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