Arizona is currently under a 15-week gestational ban, with no exception for cases of rape or incest. The Arizona Supreme Court is weighing whether to reinstate a near-total ban from 1864, that would prohibit all abortions except for those to save the patient’s life. This ban would punish doctors who violate the rule with a mandatory 2 to 5 years in prison.
In Burch’s pregnancy loss two years ago, the Arizona lawmaker was almost prevented from accessing an abortion when the state was going back and forth between the ideas of the 15-week ban and the total abortion ban.
At the time, Burch was devastated to learn that a much-wanted pregnancy would once again end in miscarriage, and she would require a D&C to keep her safe. When she began miscarrying the night before her scheduled abortion, doctors were only willing to give her medication to speed up her miscarriage. Hesitant to perform an emergency abortion, doctors waited until she was in a critical condition to terminate the pregnancy. That happened the next day, just two weeks before the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“Doctors and patients should be making those determinations, not legislators who don’t have to suffer through the consequences themselves,” she said.
According to the Arizona Mirror, several republicans left during Burch’s speech on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli was among them.
A sole Republican, Prescott Sen. Ken Bennett, remained on the floor while Burch spoke. When she was done, he walked over to her, expressed his sympathy for her situation and gave her a hug. Several democratic representatives stood behind Burch in support as she delivered her remarks.
Abortion Discussions in Election 2024
Abortion is a loud topic everywhere across the country right now, and for clear and obvious reasons. But in the 2024 election, we’re beginning to see candidates from both parties taking the path of compassion when pushing their agendas.
Earlier this month, Amy Brown, wife of Nevada’s leading Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown, sat down with NBC News to share about a 2008 abortion she had before she met her husband.
“I’m sharing my story today so that I can provide awareness for what it’s like to live in my shoes, for women who have chosen to have abortions. And also just to provide awareness to women … that they can take a break, they can take a minute, they can process and hopefully know that they have options,” Amy Brown said.
