Arizona governor calls for proposed law enshrining birth control access

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is pushing to a proposed bill to make birth control and other contraception accessible statewide.

Hobbs announced the Arizona Right to Contraception Act at a news conference Thursday in Phoenix.

“Attacks on reproductive freedoms and basic health care will not be tolerated any longer,” she said.

Hobbs was joined by Democratic state Rep. Athena Salman, who plans to introduce the Arizona Right to Contraception Act next January.

Salman says contraception is especially critical for historically marginalized groups, including people of color or who identify as LGBTQ+.

A Democratic bill, however, faces long odds of passing in the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature.

The announcement was timed for the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.