Arizona Becomes 6th State to Introduce Texas-Style Abortion Ban Protecting Babies With Beating Hearts

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jan 18, 2022   |   6:47PM   |   Phoenix, Arizona

More states are lining up to protect unborn babies after Texas succeeded in banning abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable last fall.

This month, Arizona joined at least five other states in introducing legislation to protect unborn babies with beating hearts from abortion, according to the Huffington Post.

The Arizona Heartbeat Act (House Bill 2483) is modeled after the Texas law. Sponsored by state Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Maricopa, the bill would ban abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable. Typically, an unborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected by six weeks of pregnancy, before most abortions occur.

The bill would allow private individuals to sue abortionists and anyone who aids or abets them in violating the ban. Men who commit “an act of sexual assault or incest” would be prohibited from suing.

For the newly-elected Martinez, protecting unborn babies from abortion is a priority. She described herself to the Arizona Sun Times as a “pro-life, pro-gun, back the blue, protect our border, love America, protect our elections through election integrity conservative.”

Martinez believes her bill is more likely to withstand a legal challenge and save babies’ lives because of the private enforcement mechanism. It is because of this unique provision that the Texas law currently is in effect, saving thousands of babies’ lives.

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According to the Huffington Post, bills similar to the Texas law also have been introduced in Arkansas, Florida, Ohio, Alabama and Missouri, and there could be more coming in South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana and potentially other states.

Since 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court has forced states to legalize abortion on demand under Roe v. Wade. States that want to protect unborn babies may only do so once they reach the point of viability, currently about 22 weeks. Roe made the United States one of only seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks.

As a result, more than 63 million unborn babies and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mothers have died in supposedly “safe,” legal abortions.

Then, last year, the Supreme Court gave pro-life advocates renewed hope when it refused twice to block enforcement of the Texas heartbeat law. As a result, Texas is the first state to be allowed to enforce a pre-viability abortion ban in nearly five decades.

In December, the justices also heard a direct challenge to Roe from Mississippi in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The court likely will issue its ruling in June.

The Guttmacher Institute predicts that 26 states would ban abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, and experts say hundreds of thousands of babies would be spared from violent abortion deaths every year.

Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose abortion on demand and support strong legal protections for unborn babies. A new Vinea Research/Students for Life poll found 52 percent of millennials support banning all or most abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable. That is up from 47 percent who supported a heartbeat abortion ban in 2021.

ACTION ALERT: Contact Arizona state lawmakers to urge support for the legislation.