Arizona sued for targeting women of color
By Floyd Alvin Galloway
From the Arizona Informant
PHOENIX, ARIZ. (NNPA) – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona filed a lawsuit May 29, on behalf of the NAACP of Maricopa County and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) challenging a state law that relies on harmful racial stereotypes to shame and discriminate against Black women and Asian and Pacific Islander (API) women who decide to end their pregnancies.
The law, sponsored by Rep. Steve Montenegro, (R-Litchfield Park) is based on stereo-types that Black and API women cannot be trusted to make personal health care decisions without scrutiny by the state.
“This law takes the personal and private health care decisions of women of color and exploits them for political gain,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project and lead counsel in the lawsuit. “But our Constitution flatly prohibits states from passing laws based on racist stereotypes.”
The case alleges the law violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. “The 14th Amendment says laws passed with a discriminatory intent and racial stereotypes cannot stand, period. This law is unconstitutional,” said Dan Pochoda, an ACLU lawyer.
