By Corinne Murdock |

State Sen. Eva Burch (D-LD09) called her GOP colleagues “cruel” for restricting her ability to abort her child.

Burch made the remarks in a speech on the Senate floor on Monday. The senator said that she learned that her pregnancy was not progressing — nonviable — and that she had opted for abortion rather than wait on a miscarriage. 

“I’m choosing abortion because I’m pregnant and for reasons that I should not have to explain to you, or to the church, or to the state of Arizona. I need to not be pregnant anymore. That’s the best outcome for me,” said Burch.

Burch said she was unable to receive an abortion from an abortion clinic last Friday as quickly as she desired due to state law requiring an ultrasound, informed consent, and a 24-hour waiting period.

“I don’t think people should have to justify their abortions,” said Burch. “There’s no one-size-fits-all for people seeking abortion care, and the legislature doesn’t have any right to assign one.”

Arizona law requires an abortionist to obtain the “voluntary and informed consent” of a mother based on the diagnosed condition of her unborn children.

A mother given a lethal fetal diagnosis must be advised of perinatal hospice services as an alternative to abortion. A lethal fetal condition is defined as a pre-birth diagnosis expected to result in the death of the unborn child within three months after birth. 

A mother given a nonlethal fetal diagnosis must be advised of the range of outcomes for individuals living with the diagnosed condition; government and nongovernmental resources for mitigating the condition; and options for adoption.

Burch claimed that the informed consent requirement was a means to “shame, coerce, and frighten” her. 

The senator also relayed her experience with a previous pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Burch claimed that she was unable to obtain treatment to remove her deceased embryo because her condition wasn’t deemed “critical enough.” Per state law, abortion doesn’t include the termination of an ectopic pregnancy or removal of a dead fetus. This is a definition supported and reiterated by Attorney General Kris Mayes.

“[I]f you have a miscarriage and the doctor performs a surgical procedure to remove the deceased fetus, that is not an abortion,” states a webpage on abortion by Mayes.

Failure to remove a dead fetus from the uterus in a timely manner can cause deadly complications, such as disseminated intravascular coagulation. Denial of such lifesaving care would be considered medical malpractice. 

Even so, Burch claimed lawmakers were to blame for her physical and emotional duress. 

“The clauses for emergencies aren’t good enough. These laws can serve to intimidate doctors and it muddies the waters when they’re trying to make complex decisions in situations that are really volatile,” said Burch. 

Arizona prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and outright bans abortions sought for reasons of fetal genetic abnormality, race, or sex. 

Burch said it was “inappropriate” for women seeking an abortion to have to undergo the transvaginal ultrasound.

Burch didn’t go into the details of her unborn child’s nonviability. Though uncommon, misdiagnosis of nonviability early on in pregnancy does occur for various reasons, such as an inaccurate conception date causing an inability to detect a fetal heartbeat. These misdiagnoses are usually caught with a followup ultrasound. 

Burch also claimed that abortion carries a lower risk than pregnancy. The senator also cited datasets determining that women who can’t receive an abortion were more likely to be domestic violence victims, facing eviction and bankruptcy, bearing children with developmental delays, and poor.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.