PHOENIX — Eva Burch is a mom to two young boys, a registered nurse, and, for just more than a year, an Arizona state senator.
Then, this past week, she made a very personal decision public on the Senate floor: Burch planned to have an abortion.
"After numerous ultrasounds and blood draws, we had determined my pregnancy is not progressing and not viable," Burch said, surrounded by fellow Democrats during a time reserved for senators' statements.
In an interview for this weekend's "Sunday Square Off," Burch said of her speech: "That wasn't a difficult decision."
As for the speech itself, Burch said, "My voice is shaking ... I'm doing a lot of heavy breathing... I felt uncomfortable. I felt frightened."
Call from Vice President Kamala Harris
But the reaction was overwhelming.
A call from Vice President Kamala Harris capped a week that thrust Burch into the national spotlight in more than 20 interviews.
"I have had such an outpouring of just love and support," Burch said.
Burch, who is 43, had the procedure done Wednesday, eight weeks into her pregnancy. She was back at work later in the day.
The first-term Mesa Democrat had announced her planned abortion on Monday to a Republican-controlled Senate that has passed dozens of bills over the last two decades to restrict abortion.
Serious stigma about abortion patients
"There is some serious stigma happening about who the abortion patient is," she said.
"I want to open up that conversation," Burch added. "I want it to be more honest and more comprehensive."
As someone who had a previous abortion and now as a lawmaker, Burch said she better understood legislative mandates for abortion providers.
"If I was made to feel bad or uncomfortable in that situation, then I think that that is the intent of the legislation," Burch said. "I was told things that were absolutely not applicable to my situation, and some of them that were just factually inaccurate."
The Center for Arizona Policy and its president, Cathi Herrod, have been the leading advocates for most of Arizona's anti-abortion laws. They didn't respond to a request for comment on Burch's remarks.
Arizona abortion law unsettled
The backdrop for Burch's announcement is a state where reproductive rights remain unsettled. The U.S. Supreme Court created a legal vacuum two years ago by striking down a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
Current Arizona law allows an abortion to take place up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
In the next few months, the Arizona Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of a near-total ban on abortion that has been on the books since 1864.
Arizona voters could have the last word in November. A planned ballot initiative would enshrine reproductive rights in the state Constitution.
GOP senators' religious argument
In late February, a group of Republican senators gathered on the Senate floor as State Sen. Shawnna Bolick of Phoenix read a proclamation urging voters to refuse to sign petitions to put the initiative on the ballot.
"The undersigned Arizona legislators urge every person to refuse to sign a signature to put the Arizona Access Act on the ballot, as it an assault on God's value and sovereignty regarding the sanctity of human life," Bolick said. The statement was signed by all 16 Republican senators.
What's Burch's response to Senate colleagues and others who oppose abortion on religious grounds?
"They have a voice in their own decision-making, and I have a voice in my own decision-making," she said.
The spokeswoman for Senate Republicans didn't respond to a request for comment on Burch's speech.
Status of 'Abortion Access' initiative
The so-called "decline to sign" strategy is the chief weapon being used by initiative opponents.
Organizers of the Arizona for Abortion Access campaign say they have already crossed the 210,000-signature threshold to get on the ballot.
Voter signatures are still being gathered ahead of a July filing deadline.
A 30- to 50-percent signature cushion is standard for ballot initiatives, given the inevitability that opponents will challenge the signatures' legality.
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