A Democrat in Arizona's state senator made waves on Monday, after standing before her colleagues on on the Senate floor and announced her own need to get an abortion while admonishing Arizona's legislature's "failure" to protect female consitutents.
Arizona State Senator Eva Burch (D.) stood at the end of Monday's session to make what is called a point of personal privilege, a right afforded to Arizona lawmakers when they wish to make a personal statement.
Senator Burch had previously worked as an emergency room nurse and a nurse practitioner at a women's health clinic but spoke of her personal struggle when addressing her colleagues on Monday.
"A few weeks ago, I learned that against all odds, I am pregnant," said Burch (D-9). "Many of you know that I've had kind of a rough journey with fertility. I had my first miscarriage more than 13 years ago, and I have been pregnant many times. Since then, twice, I was lucky enough to successfully carry to term and I have two beautiful healthy little boys."
"But two years ago, while I was campaigning for this Senate seat, I became pregnant with what we later determined was a nonviable pregnancy. It was a pregnancy that we had been trying for, and we were heartbroken over it," she continued.
"After numerous ultrasounds and blood draws, we have determined that my pregnancy is once again not progressing and is not viable And once again, I have scheduled an appointment to terminate my pregnancy."
"I don't think people should have to justify their abortions but I'm choosing to talk about why I made this decision because I want us to be able to have meaningful conversations about the reality of how the work that we do in this body impacts people in the real world."
WATCH: Senator Burch has just shared her personal abortion story with the rest of her colleagues at the legislature. Her Republican colleagues voted to ban abortion in 2022. Thank you, Sen. Burch for sharing your story, a story that so many Arizona families know all too well. pic.twitter.com/nyajE9H4MH
— ADLCC (@A_DLCC) March 18, 2024
The Arizona Legislature has passed laws that restrict a woman's access to an abortion, banning most abortions after 15 weeks, imposing a 24-hour waiting period between in-person counseling and forcing women to take ultrasounds that may be considered medically unnecessary.
"I don't know how many of you have been unfortunate enough to experience a miscarriage before but I am not interested in going through it unnecessarily. And right now, the safest and most appropriate treatment for me and the treatment that I choose is abortion."
"My experiences in this space, both as a provider and as a patient, have led me to believe that this Legislature has failed the people of Arizona, in the laws that restrict and dictate abortion and in the resources that it cuts and strangles and denies at every opportunity," she said of her time in the state Senate. "Our decision-making should be grounded in expert testimony and in consensus from both the medical community and from constituents, and free from political posturing and partisan bias, but that's not what I see happening."
