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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

Does Arizona universally allow abortion up to birth?

Tallulah Anne, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

Arizona law generally permits abortion up to fetal viability — the point at which a fetus could likely survive outside the uterus, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, abortion is only legal if deemed medically necessary to preserve the mother’s life or health. 

In practice, most abortions in Arizona occur much earlier. In 2023, for instance, 89% took place within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the most recent Arizona Department of Health report available. 

Arizona’s current standard was established after voters approved the Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative in November 2024, ultimately overturning the state’s previous 15-week abortion ban.

Arizona is one of 14 states with a fetal viability limit on abortion, according to nonpartisan research organization KFF. Nationally, 41 states either ban abortion or restrict access to the procedure after a certain point in pregnancy. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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