Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch pauses before answering a question as she talks about her decision to have an abortion during an interview at her Capitol office Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Phoenix.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all script for people seeking abortion care, and the legislature doesn’t have any right to assign one,” Burch added. So we got some blood, and two days later did another blood draw, to see if my HCG was increasing the way that it was supposed to, and it wasn’t. And my progesterone was actually decreasing. I had another ultrasound a week later and, again, didn’t look good, measuring small, the heartbeat was even slower the second time around. And it was really at that point that we knew that this was not going to be a viable pregnancy.My doctor didn’t advise me that termination was necessary for my own safety.
This poor medical provider had to tell me what the probable fetal anatomical properties of my fetus would be at the time of the abortion. It is medically unnecessary for a start but also — in my case — was factually inaccurate because my embryo was dying and was not subject to the normal parameters of a healthy pregnancy. It’s just so cruel and unnecessary.
I’ve been a patient, a medical provider, and now a lawmaker. And I’ve been able to experience first-hand how our decision-making has failed the people of Arizona from so many different angles. I feel this obligation to the people who elected me to do what I can to be an advocate, and this was that opportunity.
We’re looking at the possibility right now that the Republicans are just going to put a competing ballot initiative on the ballot, and the process in Arizona allows them to do that without collecting a single signature. Republicans can, by simple majority, put whatever they want on the ballot.