On March 17, 2020, Lynn M. Paltrow, Founder and Executive Director of Pregnancy Justice, testified before the Arizona House Judiciary in opposition to Senate Bill 1457, which, among other things, would require that the Arizona constitution be construed to acknowledge, “on behalf of an unborn child at every stage of development, all rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state.”
By requiring this construction of state law, Arizona is creating the basis for undermining pregnant women’s lives health and rights. This is because there is no way to add fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses still inside of women’s bodies to the community of citizens entitled to “all rights, privileges and immunities” without simultaneously removing the “rights, privileges, and immunities” to which women, including pregnant women, are entitled under Arizona and federal law.
Read the full written testimony here.