Women and Abortion in Arizona: Findings from the 2024 KFF Women’s Health Survey

Key Takeaways

• Among women ages 18 to 49 in Arizona, 15% say they have had an abortion at some point in their lives.
• Women in Arizona are concerned about the impact of abortion restrictions on health and safety. Over six in ten (64%) are very or somewhat concerned that a ban may affect the safety of a potential future pregnancy for them or someone close to them, and 69% express concern that they or someone close to them would not be able to obtain an abortion if it was needed to preserve their life or health.
• Awareness of abortion availability is limited among reproductive age women in Arizona. Nearly six in ten (58%) have heard of medication abortion, but just over one in ten are aware that it is legal in the state and can be obtained online.
• Women with lower incomes in Arizona, who are disproportionately affected by restrictions on abortion, have lower awareness about abortion access in their state and greater concerns about pregnancy safety.
• Substantial majorities of reproductive age women in Arizona think abortion should be legal in all or most cases (70%), support a nationwide right to abortion (66%), and oppose leaving abortion policy to the states (67%).

Introduction

Many people across the nation are watching the state of Arizona in the 2024 election. Arizona is considered a swing state in the Presidential contest between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. President Biden won the state in 2020 with a narrow <1% margin. Vice President Harris has been outspoken in support of abortion access in all states and is expected to campaign heavily on the topic, while former President Trump claims credit for appointing Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortion completely and restrict it before fetal viability. This year, the state also has a widely watched Senate race that could tip the very slim margin the Democrats currently hold in the Senate, another important factor in abortion access, as the next President is likely to nominate multiple federal judges and possibly at least one Supreme Court justice.

The election comes at the end of a tumultuous year in Arizona, during which the state’s Supreme Court decided to reinstate a law from the Civil War era that would have outlawed all abortions with nearly no exceptions. After much public outrage at the ruling and debate within the state, the legislature passed a bill repealing the 1864 law which the governor signed, effectively nulling the state Supreme court decision. The status quo remains in place, and currently, abortion is legal up to 15 weeks’ gestation in Arizona. However, the state will have a ballot measure on abortion legality in this year’s election that, if passed, would make abortion legal in the state up to viability, generally considered around 24 weeks gestation (See Box).

This brief provides information about abortion experiences, awareness, and attitudes of Arizona women ages 18 to 49, based on findings from the 2024 KFF Women’s Health Survey, a nationally representative survey on health care issues, developed and analyzed by KFF, fielded from May 13 to June 18, 2024, before President Biden withdrew from the 2024 Presidential campaign. This analysis is based on survey responses from 298 women ages 18 to 49 in Arizona. The data for Arizona were weighted to represent women ages 18 to 49 in the state, based on benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. One half of women ages 18 to 49 in Arizona have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL), 44% are White, 39% are Hispanic, and 7% are Black (Figure 1). See the methodology section for more information on definitions, sampling design, and margins of sampling error.

Findings

Women’s Experiences with Abortion

Among women ages 18 to 49 living in Arizona, 15% say they have had an abortion at some point in their life. Another 52% of reproductive age women in the state have been pregnant and not had an abortion, and one-third of women have never been pregnant (Figure 2).

Almost half of reproductive age women in the state say that it is difficult to obtain an abortion in the state. When asked about the ability to obtain abortion services in their state, 46% of reproductive age women say it is somewhat or very difficult (Figure 3). One in ten describe it as very or somewhat easy, and a sizable share (44%) say they don’t know. Additionally, more than one in ten (13%) say that they personally know someone who has had difficulty obtaining an abortion since Roe was overturned. State policies on abortion, as well as cost, insurance coverage, availability of services, knowledge and awareness all play a role in women’s ability to find and obtain abortion care.

Most women in Arizona are concerned about the impact of abortion restrictions on health and safety for themselves and loved ones. The safety of pregnancy has come squarely into the limelight since the Dobbs ruling, with multiple high profile cases of pregnant people suffering major complications yet being denied abortion care because of bans in their states that do not allow abortions even in cases of emergencies when the pregnant person’s health is threatened. All states have exceptions to their abortion bans and restrictions to preserve the life of a pregnant person, and some states also have exceptions to preserve the health of the pregnant person or for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. However, these exceptions are narrow, vague, and have been hard to interpret, with many clinicians unable to determine when someone is sick enough that their life is on the line. As a result, there are multiple lawsuits pending over the conflict between abortion bans and the federal requirement for hospitals to provide all patients with lifesaving and stabilizing emergency medical care. Arizona’s 15-week limit allows exceptions for life and health but does not have exceptions for cases of rape and incest.

About seven in ten (69%) Arizona women say they are very or somewhat concerned that they or someone close to them would not be able to obtain an abortion if it was needed to preserve their life or health (Figure 4). Similarly, about two-thirds (64%) are concerned that a ban may affect the safety of a potential pregnancy in the future for them or someone close to them. Notably, higher shares of women with lower incomes express concerns about the impact of abortion bans on safety and health for pregnant people compared to women with higher incomes (Figure 5).

Overturning of Roe has affected contraceptive practices among some Arizona women. One in five (20%) Arizona women say that since the ruling, they or their partner have changed a contraceptive practice, such as starting contraception, switching to a more effective method, having their tubes tied or getting a vasectomy, or obtaining emergency contraception. This is similar between women of different income levels – 21% of women with incomes less than 200% FPL and 16% of women with higher incomes report a change in contraception practices (data not shown).

Awareness of Abortion Availability and Policy

Awareness of abortion availability is limited among reproductive age women in Arizona. Abortion is legal in Arizona through 15 weeks gestation, but most women in the state are not aware of this (Figure 6). When asked to describe the status of abortion policy in their state, nearly one in ten (7%) incorrectly think that abortion is available with few restrictions, and another one in three believe that abortion is generally unavailable with few exceptions. Four in ten say they don’t know. Only one in five (21%) women of reproductive age in Arizona say correctly that abortion is available but limited to earlier in pregnancy. However, there is a significant difference in awareness between women in different income levels. Three in ten women with incomes above 200% of the FPL answer correctly, twice the share of women with lower incomes (15%).

Awareness of abortion policy has been variable in Arizona because of the extreme uncertainty resulting from a state supreme court ruling earlier in the year that would have reinstated an 1864 law banning all abortions in the state. Following that ruling, there was widespread publicity that if it had taken effect, abortion would be banned under nearly all circumstances. The state legislature revoked the law before it went into effect, and abortion remains legal up to 15 weeks gestation. The state policy may change in the future if voters in the state approve the upcoming ballot initiative to legalize abortion up to viability, generally considered around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Four in ten reproductive age women in Arizona say they would not know where to get an abortion if they needed one and wouldn’t know where they could find the information. For many women, finding abortion care is not easy. Abortion is an unplanned health care need, there are limited clinicians offering care in many areas, stigma has limited conversation, education and openness about abortion, and there is also extensive misinformation and active censorship of abortion information in many venues.

In recent years, and particularly since the Dobbs decision, there are more websites like Plan C and ineedana.com that provide directories of local abortion clinics, information about companies that offer telehealth appointments, and links to websites to purchase pills without a clinician visit.

However, this information may not necessarily be reaching everyone. One in ten women say they know where they could get an abortion if they needed one in the near future, and another 47% say they could find the information (Figure 7). Yet, four in ten (42%) do not know where to go or how to find the information.

About six in ten reproductive age women in Arizona have heard of medication abortion pills. More than 20 years ago, the FDA approved the use of the medication mifepristone for abortion through 10 weeks gestation. Since then, medication abortion has become the most common method of abortion in the country. In recent years, there has been greater attention on medication abortion, with many conservative and anti-choice leaders opposing its use and trying to implement restrictions. In 2023-2024, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case about the approval process of medication abortion. While there was no ruling in that case, access to medication abortion continues to be discussed in the courts, among federal and state policymakers, and in the media.

More than half (58%) of reproductive age women in Arizona say they have heard of medication abortion (Figure 8), lower than the national share (67%). There is also less awareness among women with lower incomes, with just over half (53%) saying they have heard of medication abortion, compared to seven in ten women with higher incomes (69%).

Few reproductive age women in Arizona know that medication abortion is legal in the state and that pills can be obtained online. Medication abortion can be used through 10 weeks of pregnancy, which is within Arizona‘s gestational limit of 15 weeks, so it is legal in the state. Yet just over one in ten (14%) of reproductive age women in the state are aware that it is legal. A similar share (15%) erroneously believe it is illegal, and seven in ten (71%) don’t know if it’s legal or haven’t heard of it (Figure 9).

Women in Arizona seeking medication abortion pills can obtain them from a clinician in person. Additionally, websites like Plan C, ineedana.com, and AbortionFinder provide information about online clinics and websites that sell medication abortion pills online and mail them to all states in the U.S. However, just about one in ten (11%) reproductive age women in Arizona know that medication abortion pills can be obtained online. Over one in ten (14%) say that this is not an option for women in the state, and three in four are not sure or haven’t heard of medication abortion.

Opinions on Abortion Policy

The majority of reproductive age women in Arizona think abortion should be legal in all or most cases (Figure 10). Seven in ten women ages 18 to 49 in Arizona say that abortion should be legal in all cases (30%) or most cases (40%) (Figure 10). Conversely, three in ten women say abortion should be illegal in all (9%) or most cases (21%). This is similar to women in the United States, three quarters of whom say abortion should be legal and 26% who think it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Currently, abortion is legal up to 15 weeks gestation in Arizona. Beyond that time, abortion is allowed only in the event of medical emergencies. The upcoming ballot initiative on abortion would protect the right to abortion up to viability if approved. A previous KFF survey found that two-thirds of women voters in the state support the initiative and that six in ten (58%) say they would be more motivated to vote in the election if the measure appears on the ballot.

The majority of women in Arizona support a nationwide right to abortion and oppose leaving abortion policy to the states. In this year’s election, Vice President Harris and leaders in the Democratic party support reinstating the standards of Roe v. Wade, which provided a nationwide right to abortion up to viability before it was overturned by the Dobbs decision. The majority of Arizona women are in favor of a national right, with two-thirds (66%) of women ages 18 to 49 in Arizona saying they strongly or somewhat support a law that would establish a nationwide right to abortion (Figure 11).

In contrast, former President Trump and the newly revamped Republican party platform support leaving it up to states to decide whether abortion is legal, which two-thirds (67%) of Arizona women oppose. Six in ten Arizona reproductive age women (61%) also oppose a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks gestation, a position promoted by some Republican lawmakers, including former President Trump, at times. When looking at women in different income groups, one in five (21%) women of reproductive age with incomes above 200% of the FPL say they strongly support a national ban at 15 weeks, but a majority (58%) still strongly or somewhat oppose this policy.

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Abortion and reproductive health issues will be on the ballot this year in the battleground state of Arizona. Should voters in the state vote to pass the proposed constitutional amendment, abortion access in Arizona would be protected through viability, in line with the platform of the Democratic party and Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. If it does not secure the needed majority, then abortion will remain limited to 15 weeks with the possibility that future state legislatures could vote to roll back the limit to early gestational periods, as has been done in many states across the country.