Catholic Bishops of Arizona Statement Opposing Prop 139
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As Catholic Bishops of Arizona we want to express our strong opposition to Proposition 139.
If passed, this initiative threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona. What makes a constitutional amendment especially grave is that our own Arizona legislators could lose the ability to regulate abortion in any meaningful way, leaving us with the potential for what would likely become nearly unrestricted abortion.
Arizona law currently allows for abortions up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. Proposition 139, however, would go far beyond even this current law.
The proposed amendment, among other things, would likely remove most safeguards for girls and women that are currently in place at abortion clinics, permit a minor to obtain an abortion without parental involvement or permission, and allow for painful late-term abortions of viable pre-born children.
While this ballot measure claims to be moderate in nature, its vague language would make Arizona one of the most extreme states in terms of abortion. We believe that even many of those who support abortion in limited instances would find this proposed constitutional amendment extreme and misleading.
Arizonans deserve far better than the measures being proposed in this initiative which is why we strongly oppose Proposition 139.
Most Rev. John P. Dolan
Bishop of Phoenix
Most Rev. Edward J. Weisenburger
Bishop of Tucson
Most Rev. James S. Wall
Bishop of Gallup
Most Rev. Eduardo Nevares
Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix
