Initiatives or amendments dealing with pregnancy have surged in response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and shifted the issue to states.
At least nine states, including Missouri, will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights this November. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman.
Missouri Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, is on the November ballot. The amendment, “will prohibit any regulation of abortion, including regulations designed to protect women undergoing abortions and prohibit any civil or criminal recourse against anyone who performs an abortion and hurts or kills the pregnant women.”
To put a citizen-led constitutional amendment on November’s ballot, the campaign had to collect signatures from 8% of voters in six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts which equates to a bit more than 171,000 signatures. That measure was met with more than 380,000 signatures collected in just three months that qualified the initiative for this year’s statewide ballot.
Additionally, according to Ballotpedia, a political issues website, A “yes” vote supports amending the Missouri Constitution to provide “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”
Responding to the amendment earlier this year, Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the primary group supporting the measure, told MSNBC News: “I am honored to say that it is our turn to do something that no other state has done before — end a total abortion ban at the ballot box. This November, Missouri voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard and return decisions about abortion to their rightful place — with women, their families and their doctors, not politicians.”
Last week the amendment was placed in question. Two Republican state lawmakers and a prominent anti-abortion leader sued to have the amendment thrown out. On Friday, Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that the abortion-rights campaign did not meet legal requirements to qualify for the November ballot.
According to Limbaugh, his decision was based on the campaign’s “failure to include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statues are apparent. The court must conclude that the defendant-intervenors’ initiative petition was insufficient.”
Limbaugh, however, stopped short of removing the measure from the ballot by giving the campaign a chance to file a last-minute appeal. Recognizing “the gravity of the unique issues involved in this case and the lack of direct precedent on point,” Limbaugh wrote that he’d wait until Tuesday for the amendment to be removed from the ballot, giving an appellate court time to decide whether or not to uphold his ruling.
Hoping for a swift resolution, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom appealed Limbaugh’s decision. On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the proposed amendment will remain on the general election ballot. The decision came less than three hours before a 5 p.m. deadline to finalize the ballot.
The state’s seven-member high court released a one-page order requiring the amendment to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, but didn’t immediately issue a majority opinion, leaving its reasoning unclear, according to the Kansas City Star.
In a statement after the court’s decision, Sweet wrote: “Today’s decision is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri. The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling ensures that Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, will appear on the November ballot, giving voters—not politicians—the power to decide on this critical issue”
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State Line
Emphasizing just how critical things may be for women if their reproductive rights are further infringed, the Lincoln Project-a leading pro-democracy organization that has been very critical of former President Donald Trump, his allies and policies-released a new political ad recently titled, “State Line.”
The video starts innocuously enough. A policeman pulls over a car driven by a father with his young daughter. After asking the father for his license and registration, the officer ominously peers into the driver’s side window and addresses the daughter.
“Abigail, right? Have you been spotting recently?” he states knowingly, before asking even more personal questions: “What are you, ‘bout eight weeks pregnant? You had any cramps or nausea? You been taking your prenatal vitamins?”
The policeman informs the incredulous passengers that he knows – by the car’s navigation system – that Abigail is heading to a clinic “in one of those abortion states.”
“We have the right to travel,” Abigail protests.
“Not anymore,” the cop casually replies.
He then orders the father and daughter out of the car.
“You, sir, are under arrest for crossing state lines to obtain an abortion for a minor under your care,” he informs the father. “And you, young lady …” the cop continues as he handcuffs Abigail “… are under arrest for evading motherhood.”
The advertisement, according to the Lincoln Project, is designed to highlight the dangers of Project 2025 – a multi-pronged initiative created by the conservative Heritage Foundation – that serves as a controversial blueprint for the next Republican president that will institutionalize sweeping government overhauls.
On X (formerly Twitter), the Lincoln Project writes: “Project 2025 and its evil architects envision an America where women will be monitored, prosecuted, and jailed for exercising their own bodily autonomy. We are not going back!”
The Lincoln Project video, the creators explained, was produced to help voters “envision an America where women will be monitored, prosecuted, and jailed for exercising their own bodily autonomy.”
Polling conducted last month by Saint Louis University and YouGov found the amendment was on the path toward passage, with 52% of respondents supportive of the measure.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.To vote in the Tuesday, November 5, 2024, general election, voters must register by mail, online or in person by Wednesday, October 9, 2024. For more information visit: https://www.vote411.org/missouri.