A majority of likely Arizona voters said they support the amendment on the ballot enshrining “the fundamental right to an abortion” into the state constitution come November, according to a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College.

A total of 58% of voters supported the amendment, Proposition 139, which would prohibit the state from prohibiting or restricting abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside of the womb. Viability is determined on a case-by-case basis, usually somewhere between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion has been top of mind for Arizona voters in the 2024 election cycle since the state Supreme Court this April upheld the constitutionality of an 1864 law that prohibited abortion almost entirely and made performing an abortion a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

The court upheld the nearly 160-year-old statute in reviewing whether it conflicted with the 15-week abortion ban that was passed by the legislature in May 2022 following the unprecedented leak of the drafted opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade.

The state Senate voted to repeal the law in early May, and the law was taken off the books earlier this month.

Arizona law now allows for abortion up to 15 weeks gestation, at which point a fetus can likely feel pain.

Where the voters stand

The new constitutional amendment has some semblance of bipartisan support, according to polling data. About 30% of Republicans said they would vote in favor of the amendment, along with 84% of Democrats and 63% of independents. 

Majorities of both sexes, 62% of men and 54% of women, also supported the amendment. 

The 58% overall support for the amendment, however, fell short when counted against the 65% of those polled who said abortion should be “always legal” or “mostly legal.”

Those who generally supported abortion rights but planned to vote no on the amendment were more likely to be Republicans, planning to vote for former President Donald Trump.

The poll question did not specify any gestational age limits when asking voters about their preference for legal abortion. 

Only 18% of voters in Arizona responded in the poll that abortion was their most important topic heading into the election, while the economy and immigration ranked the highest.

Nearly a quarter of those who identified abortion as their top issue were women. 

Abortion rights amendments in other states

This election season, there are 10 other states, including Florida and Nebraska, that have abortion rights amendments on the ballot.

Pro-abortion rights advocates won sizable victories in terms of candidates and constitutional amendments in the 2022 midterm elections as well as the 2023 state-level elections. 

Nationwide, 1 in 8 voters, about 12%, said abortion was their No. 1 issue as of March. Another 52% of voters said it was a “very important issue but not the most important.”