Abortion will be on Missouri’s statewide ballot in November
From the Missouri Independent:
Missouri voters will decide whether to legalize abortion in November
The ballot question was among four citizen-led measures certified by the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office for the November ballot
Abortion will be on Missouri’s statewide ballot in November.
An initiative petition to enshrine the right to abortion up until the point of fetal viability received final approval Tuesday, securing a place on the general election ballot. If the measure receives a majority of votes, Missouri could become the first state to overturn an abortion ban through a citizen-led measure.
The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office had until 5 p.m. to certify all ballot measures that received enough verified signatures to qualify. It certified the measures as sufficient hours before that deadline. Also certified to be on the November ballot were proposals to legalize sports wagering and raise the minimum wage.
Leaders with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the coalition behind the ballot measure, gathered at a press conference Tuesday to encourage Missourians to get out to vote. The coalition is headed by Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri and the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates.
“Politicians have tied doctors’ hands and the stakes could not be higher,” said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri. “ … With a yes vote on amendment 3 this November, we are taking back what’s ours.”
In Missouri, the first state to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure two years ago, abortion is expected to be a focal point of the general election campaign.
Missouri is among 18 states with an abortion ban, and among several states working to put abortion on the ballot. In each state that put the issue on the ballot, citizens ultimately choose to protect the procedure.
“The measure takes away the right from every person who loses a child or a loved one because of negligence during pregnancy, labor or delivery the freedom to sue for malpractice and obtain compensation,” Stephanie Bell, a spokeswoman with Missouri Stands with Women, said in a statement Tuesday.
Tori Schafer, director for policy and campaigns for the ACLU of Missouri, responded to the comment, saying the statement is “fully false” and that the amendment doesn’t impact malpractice laws already in place.
What would the amendment do?
Abortion is illegal in Missouri, with limited exceptions only in cases of medical emergencies. There are no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest.
If the amendment receives more than 50% of votes in approval, the measure would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability, an undefined period of time generally seen as the point in which the fetus could survive outside the womb on its own, generally around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Such an amendment would return Missouri to the standard of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which also legalized abortion up to the point of fetal viability. Missouri’s amendment also includes exceptions after viability “to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
Missouri’s amendment also states that women and those performing or assisting in abortions cannot be prosecuted. Under current Missouri law, doctors who perform abortions deemed unnecessary can be charged with a class B felony and face up to 15 years in prison. Their medical license can also be suspended or revoked.
