If you thought the ERA battle was behind us, the fight on the senate floor today would change your mind. State senators pushing for the Equal Rights Amendment tried, but failed to set aside senate rules and bring the previously dead bill to the floor for a vote.

Key senators stood up to their pro- ERA colleagues who were trying to force their agenda onto the floor.

Citizens against the ERA packed the gallery to show their opposition as senators, led by Senators Eddie Farnsworth and Sylvia Allen, spoke eloquently on why the ERA is outdated and unnecessary. By a vote of 13-16 on a procedural motion, the Senate failed to vote to ratify the ERA.

The close call indicates just what we are up against this session and what we can expect next session with the make up of the state legislature.

Proponents have been selling the Equal Rights Amendment as a long overdue necessity for women to be held equal under the law. Of course, women are already fully protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and numerous other federal, state, and local laws prohibiting sex discrimination and unequal pay.

What proponents won’t tell you is the big push for an ERA now is all about enshrining abortion into the U.S. Constitution and rolling back commonsense restrictions on abortion. Here’s how it works:

Under the ERA, laws cannot discriminate based on sex.

There are no restrictions on men getting medical procedures associated with their reproductive health or for family planning.

So, any legal restriction on these types of procedures for women (like abortion) amounts to unconstitutional sex discrimination.

It’s already happening on a state level. Abortion activists have successfully used this argument in two states so far, based on their state ERAs. Activists recently filed a similar suit in a third state.

The desperate move to slip abortion into the U.S. Constitution, and the sudden embrace of radical abortion laws in New York, Virginia, and other states tells us something. They are clear indicators the abortion activists fear the tide is turning toward life. We celebrate this, but with a cautious eye, knowing it only emboldens abortion activists to find more crafty, desperate means to hold onto their revenue stream.

Won’t you please join us today and make a strong statement by Championing Freedom Together with the majority of Arizonans by making a generous gift in support of CAP’s efforts to fight these battles at every turn?

Together, let’s continue to make Arizona the safest place for the preborn and one of the best places in which to raise a family!

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