Abortion Is Not Health Care. Arizona Women Deserve Better

As an obstetrician and gynecologist who has served Arizona for more than 30 years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to deliver more than 15,000 babies — each one of them unique from the moment of conception.

I also have the honor of serving the women and families who are bringing these children into this world. Some have “typical” pregnancies, while others brave difficult situations, whether physical, emotional or financial. Each woman I serve is also unique.

Both deserve real support and real health care.

Arizona’s pre-Roe law protects life

After the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (overturning Roe v. Wade), the issue of abortion was returned to the people and their elected representatives.

Fortunately, the people of Arizona have protected life for decades. We codified our pro-life, pre-Roe v. Wade law in 1901, reenacted it in 1977, and reaffirmed it in 2022. This law protects life from the moment of conception.

Even Arizona’s law protecting unborn children after 15 weeks’ gestation (which passed before Roe was overturned) intentionally points out that it does not repeal Arizona’s pre-Roe law.

After the Dobbs case was decided, then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Arizona courts to allow our pre-Roe law to take effect. This request was granted; however, Planned Parenthood of Arizona, an affiliate of the nation’s largest abortion business, appealed.

Soon after, pro-abortion Attorney General Kris Mayes took office and chose not to defend Arizona’s pre-Roe law in the case.

This is what real care looks like

The court appointed me as a representative for unborn children in Arizona. After an appeals court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, I appealed through my attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom to the Arizona Supreme Court, asking it to uphold the pro-life law. I am committed to respecting human life at every stage and consider it a privilege to help families meet their newest members. It is one of the greatest joys of my life.

I also serve as the medical director for Choices Pregnancy Centers. We don’t refer or provide abortions but instead provide a safe place to talk, explore options, seek medical services, receive resources and hear about the hope available to all of us for a better life.

That’s real care. Dozens of other pregnancy centers across the state are ready to support women — providing free material resources like diapers, baby clothes, cribs and car seats, as well as parenting classes and other programs.

Women deserve better than abortion

Most women who have had abortions say that they would have chosen life if they had more support, according to research by the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Many women reported that their abortions were “unwanted or coerced,” or that they felt “high levels of pressure” to abort.

These women deserve better than abortion.

Women deserve the dignity and respect that comes from receiving life-affirming health care — not the abortion industry’s false choice between doing what’s best for the mother and protecting the life of her child.

It’s plain and simple: Abortion is not health care.

While abortion businesses and other states are pushing for policies that force taxpayers to fund elective abortions, remove conscience protections for health care professionals, allow abortions through all nine months of pregnancy, and allow minors to obtain abortions without parental consent, Arizona’s law affirms that life is a human right.

I hope the court upholds this principle.

Unborn children and their families need real health care, not abortion.