Wind Advisory
from SAT 12:00 PM MST until SAT 10:00 PM MST, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Kofa, Central La Paz, Aguila Valley, Southeast Yuma County, Gila River Valley, Northwest Valley, Tonopah Desert, Gila Bend, Buckeye/Avondale, Cave Creek/New River, Deer Valley, Central Phoenix, North Phoenix/Glendale, New River Mesa, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, Rio Verde/Salt River, East Valley, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Superior, Northwest Pinal County, West Pinal County, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonto Basin, Mazatzal Mountains, Pinal/Superstition Mountains, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, San Carlos, Dripping Springs, Globe/Miami, Southeast Gila County

California Prop 1 for abortion rights passes

Proposition 1, a measure proposed after the repeal of Roe v. Wade that would amend the state constitution to guarantee access to abortion procedures and birth control, was passed by California voters on Tuesday. 

The amendment guarantees the right to abortion and contraception. It was part of a robust legislative package backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to ensure California remains a haven for people seeking abortion services. 

Legislators placed the measure to amend the constitution on the Nov. 8 ballot days just after the court ruled in June that states could decide whether to allow abortion.

The amendment language put forward by Proposition 1 does not spell out which, if any, types of abortions would still be prohibited. But the courts wouldn’t interpret the amendment as an "absolute right" to any abortion in any circumstance, as they would still take existing law into account, said Kimberly West-Faulcon, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

California already prohibits most abortions after fetal viability, defined in state law as the point during a pregnancy at which there is "a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus," usually around 24 weeks. Abortions in the third trimester are rare, and in California, permitted only if the mother’s life or health is at risk.

Opponents, including the Catholic Church, are concerned the measure does not specify the maximum number of weeks that an abortion can be performed during a pregnancy.

But the measure’s supporters want to send a resounding message that abortion is legal and accessible in California, and they hope a solid win will inspire other states also to enshrine the right in their constitutions.

The amendment in California would declare that the state "shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives."

With the passing of Prop. 1, abortion is permitted at any stage of pregnancy.