Missouri judge to decide whether to remove abortion issue from November ballot

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) — Just days before even the courts could change the November ballot, a group of abortion opponents presented their case before a judge to remove Amendment 3 from the Missouri ballot.

On Friday, a Cole County judge heard arguments in the case to remove the abortion issue from the ballot. Every bench in the courthouse’s largest courtroom was filled with people watching the arguments.

Amendment 3 asks voters whether they want to restore access to abortion in Missouri and protect access to birth control. A group of Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Rep. Hannah Kelly, along with anti-abortion activists have filed a lawsuit claiming Amendment 3 is unconstitutional.

The judge has until Tuesday to make his decision in the case. Eight weeks before an election is the deadline for any ballot changes, because that’s when ballots must be sent to military and other overseas voters. After that deadline, not even the state’s highest court can make a change.

The attorney representing opponents of Amendment 3, Mary Catherine Martin, made several arguments in open court Friday. Among arguments about the amendment’s procedure and legality, Martin said that, if passed, Amendment 3 would force Missouri taxpayers to fund abortion because it would protect anyone seeking reproductive health care.

Martin then argued that the amendment was too vaguely worded. She told the court that the wording left the door open to things like cloning and sex-change operations.

LEARN MORE: Missouri judge rules abortion rights amendment text on November ballot is misleading

Martin also argued that the very short deadline to file a lawsuit against the ballot measures was unfair. She said there were only weeks left before final certification and a Sept. 10 deadline for courts to make changes to the ballot.

The secretary of state’s attorney argued that he had legally and properly certified Amendment 3. His attorney said in open court that he believed the court had enough time to make a decision before Tuesday’s deadline. Ashcroft has been outspoken against abortion.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom and the American Civil Liberties Union represented the group that brought the issue to a vote. Their attorney, Lorette Haggard, did not deny that abortion access for all Missourians would be significantly expanded if Amendment 3 were passed.

However, Haggard’s team argues that the petition to put the question on the ballot has received more than enough support from Missourians who understand what it seeks to accomplish to merit its place on the ballot.

Haggard also countered arguments on issues such as cloning, arguing in open court that the trial assumed things not written into the amendment.

Third Amendment supporters have argued that courts should not consider constitutional complaints before voters can decide.

The development comes just a day after another Cole County judge rewrote the ballot text after a lawsuit claimed Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s language was unfair. The new ballot text, which will be presented to Missouri voters in November pending a decision in Friday’s case, reads:

“A “yes” vote establishes a constitutional right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any government interference with that right presumed invalid; removes Missouri’s ban on abortion; authorizes the regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient; requires that the government not discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care; and authorizes the restriction or prohibition of abortion after fetal viability, except to protect the life or health of the woman.

A “no” vote would maintain Missouri’s legal ban on abortion.

If passed, the measure could reduce local taxes, but the impact on state taxes is unknown.