Hobbs calls for permanent 12-month postpartum coverage, family planning protections and contraception access

Governor Katie Hobbs raised maternal health and reproductive rights as policy priorities and proposed several administration actions and legislative requests.

She said Arizona's maternal death rate increased between 1999 and 2019 and said the state must do more to prevent avoidable maternal deaths. "This year, I will build on our success and take action to save the lives of new moms by making our 12 month postpartum coverage permanent," Hobbs said, asking the legislature to expand access to family planning services.

Hobbs noted she signed the repeal of the 1864 total abortion ban and said Arizona voters had enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution. She again called for the end of an abortion reporting law that she described as "invasive" and asked the legislature to enact protections for contraception and fertility treatments, citing a constituent whose cancer treatment led her to freeze eggs and later use IVF to have a child.

Hobbs framed these measures as protecting private medical decisions and ensuring women and families have access to care without government overreach.