Missouri abortion-rights amendment could be axed from the ballot after ruling
A Missouri judge ruled on Friday that an abortion rights campaign failed to meet the legal requirements for qualifying to be included in the November ballot. This could thwart a long-running effort to overturn the near-total ban on abortions in the state.
The Cole County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Limbaugh did not remove the measure from ballot. He instead gave the abortion rights campaign the chance to file a final-minute appeal prior to Tuesday’s deadline for making changes to the Missouri election ballot.
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom plans to appeal the ruling and hopes “for a swift resolution” so that Missourians could vote on November 5, to protect reproductive rights, including access abortion, birth-control and miscarriage treatment, campaign manager Rachel Sweet stated in a press release.
Sweet stated that “the court’s decision blocking Amendment 3 from appearing in the ballot is an injustice to the initiative process and undermines rights of 380,000 Missourians, who signed our petition requesting a voice to this important issue.”
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In his ruling Limbaugh stated that Missourians for Constitutional Freedom had not done enough to inform voters during the signature gathering process that the measure will undo the near-total ban on abortion in the state.
Limbaugh wrote: “That said… this court recognizes also the gravity of unique issues in this case and the lack direct precedent on this point.” The court will therefore stay the execution of the injunction until September 10, 2024. This is the deadline for the case being heard.
In the fall, at least nine states will be considering constitutional amendments that would enshrine abortion rights — Arizona, Colorado Florida, Maryland, Montana Nebraska Nevada South Dakota. Most states would guarantee the right to an abortion up until viability of the fetus and then allow it for health reasons later, as the Missouri proposal does.
New York has a ballot initiative that supporters say will protect abortion rights. However, there is some disagreement about its impact.
All seven states have included abortion questions on ballots since the year 2022. Voters have supported abortion rights supporters in each of these states.
Last month, a group of opponents of abortion sued to remove the Missouri Amendment from the ballot.
Mary Catherine Martin, the plaintiff’s lawyer at a bench trial on Friday, said that if voters had been aware of all the laws which could be repealed, they would not have signed a petition to place the amendment on the ballot.
The plaintiffs stated that there was no way to tell if proponents would have collected enough signatures if they knew the extent of the laws Amendment 3 invalidates.
Loretta Haggard is an attorney for the abortion rights campaign. She argues that future judges will decide which abortion laws to throw out if this amendment is passed.
In a brief filed in court, lawyers for the campaign stated that courts should not provide “advisory opinion” or speculate on whether a certain proposal, if adopted would violate the law.
Missouri banned all abortions in 2022, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade. Missouri has had almost no abortions since the Supreme Court ruled in 2022. There are exceptions for medical emergencies.
In response to this ban, the Missouri ACLU branch and local Planned Parenthoods launched a campaign called Abortion Action in Missouri to legalize abortion. Missouri protects women who have abortions from criminal charges, but anyone performing an abortion outside of the state’s exceptions is charged with felony.
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom proposes an amendment that would protect an individual’s rights to abortion and other reproductive health choices.
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