Arizonans voted to add an abortion rights protection to their state constitution, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ. 

The measure would guarantee the right to an abortion up until the point of fetal viability, which varies from pregnancy to pregnancy but typically falls around 22 to 25 weeks. Currently, abortion in Arizona is banned after 15 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The Arizona measure marks the second time activists have attempted to enact a state abortion rights protection through direct democracy. The first effort, launched after the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, did not get enough signatures to make it onto the ballot. 

The measure’s passage also comes after a tumultuous back-and-forth this spring, when a state Supreme Court decision said Arizona could enforce a near-total abortion ban passed in 1864. The decision sparked outrage in Arizona, leading the state legislature to repeal the 19th-century law.

“I’m thrilled with this outcome, and just grateful to the voters of Arizona for prioritizing reproductive rights and protecting them,” said Laura Dent, campaign manager for the ballot initiative.

As polls closed, supporters of Proposition 139 gathered at a watch party in Central Phoenix hosted by Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of advocacy organizations that worked together to get the proposition on the ballot — and, in more recent weeks, on get-out-the-vote campaigns. As results came in showing a clear lead for the proposition, people hugged in celebration, tears streaming down their faces.

Blair Moses, a campaign volunteer, had spent the day trying to reach voters by phone in one final bid to get them to the polls while others canvassed neighborhoods or set up outside polling stations to make a final plea to voters. To her, the proposition’s passage felt like a culmination of hundreds of hours of signature gathering, voter outreach, hosting house parties and phone banking. It felt like a win for all the women who had shared their stories with her over the last year. 

“We have given women their abortion and reproductive rights back,” Moses said. “It’s now enshrined in our state constitution, and we’re thankful to the voters for supporting this wonderful proposition.”