Missouri abortion rights amendment could be removed from ballot after ruling

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge ruled Friday that an abortion rights campaign did not meet 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 Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh refused to remove the measure from the ballot, instead giving 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 is appealing 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 being placed on the ballot is a grave injustice to the initiative process and undermines the rights of the 380,000 Missourians who signed our petition demanding their voices be heard on this critical issue,” Sweet said.

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

“That said, this Court also recognizes the seriousness of the unique issues raised in this case and the lack of direct precedent on this point,” Limbaugh wrote. “The Court will therefore stay the issuance of an injunction until September 10, 2024, the statutory deadline for hearing the case, so that further guidance or rulings can be issued by a reviewing court.”

At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights this fall — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most 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 the Missouri proposal would do.

New York has also introduced a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there is disagreement over its impact.

Voters in all seven states that have had abortion issues on their ballots since 2022 have sided with abortion rights advocates.

A group of abortion opponents filed a lawsuit last month seeking to remove the Missouri amendment from the ballot.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Mary Catherine Martin, said during Friday’s court hearing that at least some voters would not have signed the petition to get the amendment on the ballot if they had been aware of all the laws that could be repealed.

“There is no way to know whether the proponents of this radical amendment would have gathered enough signatures to get it on the ballot if the truth about the staggering scope of the laws invalidated by Amendment 3 had become known,” the plaintiffs said in a statement after the judge’s ruling.

Loretta Haggard, an attorney for the Abortion Rights Campaign, said it would be up to future justices to decide which abortion laws would be struck down if the amendment were to pass.

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

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 since then, almost no abortions have taken place in Missouri.

The Missouri chapter of the ACLU, local Planned Parenthoods and a group called Abortion Action Missouri launched a campaign to legalize abortion in response to the ban. While women who get abortions in Missouri are protected from criminal liability, anyone who performs an abortion outside the state’s limited exceptions can face felony charges.

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