Missouri abortion rights amendment could be pulled from ballot after ruling

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge ruled Friday that an abortion rights campaign does not meet the legal requirements to qualify for the November ballot, potentially thwarting a years-long effort to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban.

But Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh did not remove the measure from the ballot. Instead, he gave the abortion rights campaign a chance to file a last-minute appeal before Tuesday’s deadline to make changes to Missouri’s ballot.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom will appeal the decision and hopes for “a swift resolution so Missourians can vote on November 5 to protect reproductive freedom, including access to abortion, birth control and miscarriage care,” campaign manager Rachel Sweet said in a statement.

“The court’s decision to block Amendment 3 from appearing on the ballot is a profound injustice to the initiative petition process and infringes on the rights of the 380,000 Missourians who signed our petition demanding a voice on this critical issue,” Sweet said.

In his ruling, Limbaugh said Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not do enough during the signature-gathering process to inform voters that the measure would overturn the state’s near-total ban on abortion.

“That said, this court also recognizes the gravity of the unique issues at stake in this case and the lack of direct precedent on this point,” Limbaugh wrote. “The court will therefore stay enforcement of the injunction until September 10, 2024, the statutory deadline for the case to be heard, so that additional guidance or rulings can be provided by a reviewing court.”

At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments to guarantee abortion rights this fall: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most of them would guarantee the right to abortion until the fetus is viable and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what Missouri is proposing.

New York also has a referendum measure that supporters say would protect abortion rights, though there is dispute over its impact.

Voters in the seven states that have put the abortion question on their ballot since 2022 have sided with abortion rights supporters.

Last month, a group of abortion opponents filed a lawsuit to have the Missouri amendment removed from the ballot.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Mary Catherine Martin, said in court Friday that at least some voters would not have signed the petition to put the amendment to a vote if they had known about all the laws that could be repealed.

“Why would you want to hide the fact that you are going to open the border to reproductive health care in Missouri if you are sure that people are going to sign the petition anyway?” Martin asked.

Loretta Haggard, a lawyer for the Abortion Rights Campaign, argued that it will be up to future justices to decide which abortion laws will be struck down if the amendment passes.

“Courts should not provide ‘advisory opinions’ or speculate on whether a particular proposal, if adopted, would violate the law,” the campaign’s lawyers wrote in a court brief.

Missouri banned most abortions immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. There is an exception for medical emergencies, but almost no abortions have been performed in Missouri facilities since then.

The ACLU of Missouri, local family planning groups and a group called Abortion Action in Missouri have launched a campaign to legalize abortion in response to the ban. While women who have abortions are protected from criminal liability in Missouri, anyone who performs an abortion outside the state’s limited exceptions is subject to criminal prosecution.

The amendment proposed by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom would guarantee an individual’s right to have an abortion and make other reproductive health decisions.

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