Arizona Senate Bill 1457 was signed into law this week, enacting several pro-life protections for citizens of The Grand Canyon State. The new law, signed by Governor Doug Ducey, prohibits doctors from performing abortions based on diagnoses of genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome. It also prohibits sending abortion drugs through the mail, requiring them to be dispensed by a doctor in a medical office. The state’s public schools are prohibited from using taxpayer funds or student fees to perform or provide abortions or to conduct research using aborted fetal remains.
The law also provides the opportunity for the humane disposition of aborted remains, including burial, and requires Arizona laws to be interpreted in the light of the state’s pro-life policy.
Cathi Herrod is the president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a Focus on the Family ally. She hailed the news of the new law.
“Today, Arizonans win,” Herrod said. “Arizona children diagnosed with disabilities prior to birth will no longer be discriminated against. Arizona women will be ensured commonsense safeguards if they choose the abortion pill. Arizona taxpayers will not be forced to support abortions at public colleges and universities, and the laws of Arizona will be interpreted to value all human life.
“Governor Doug Ducey signed one of the most significant pro-life bills in recent history today. Preborn babies will be saved the day SB 1457 goes into effect.
“Arizonans can be proud of a state that leads the way in protecting the preborn and caring for women facing unplanned pregnancies.”
Pro-abortion activists were not enthusiastic.
According to azcentral.com, “American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona policy director Darrell Hill expressed disappointment ‘that Gov. Ducey went against the will of thousands of Arizonans who asked him to veto SB 1457,’ deeming it unconstitutional.”
Progress Arizona, a progressive group that equates abortion with “basic health care,” warned that abortionists could be prosecuted under this law. “We look forward to the litigation that will follow today’s signature,” the group told azcentral.com.
Arizona now joins the growing number of states who have legislated protections for preborn babies with Down syndrome or other genetic abnormalities, or are currently attempting to do so.
Focus on the Family president Jim Daly has noted the need to protect such babies.
“For years now, we’ve known about the growing genocide of these children both here in the United States as well as all across the globe,” Daly wrote. “In the U.S., it’s estimated that nearly 70 percent of children who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome are aborted.
“But the Scriptures are clear that sin kills, most especially in this case, where sin has robbed us of countless precious and beautiful lives.”
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