Missouri’s November ballot will include an amendment that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.
State officials gave final approval to the abortion bill on Tuesday, which will appear on the November general election ballot as Amendment 3, the Missouri Independent reports. ReportedThe group behind the measure is The group Missourians for Constitutional Freedom submitted 380,000 signatures in May, more than the roughly 171,000 needed to qualify the measure for the ballot.
The Missouri Constitutional Freedom Association is made up of left-leaning groups including the Missouri Abortion Action League, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and an affiliate of the state’s Planned Parenthood Federation.
“Politicians are tying doctors’ hands, and the risks have never been higher,” argued Mallory Schwartz, executive director of Missouri Abortion Action. “… By voting Yes on Amendment 3 in November, we’re taking back what’s ours.”
The proposed amendment is Allow Abortion until the fetus is viable is generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment would allow abortions after that “in the good faith judgment of the treating medical professional.” [an abortion] “When necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.”
The measure also states:
Governments may not deny or infringe on an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and exercise decisions regarding all matters relating to reproductive health, including, but not limited to, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage care, and a respectful birth environment.
…
The right to reproductive freedom may not be denied, obstructed, delayed, or otherwise restricted, unless the government demonstrates that it is justified by a compelling government interest achieved by the least restrictive means. Any elaboration, obstruction, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom will be considered invalid.
The bill further provides that “no person shall be subject to punishment, prosecution, or other adverse action based on the outcome of an actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy, including, but not limited to, a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”
“Furthermore, no person who assists an individual in exercising their right to reproductive freedom, with that individual’s consent, shall be subject to penalties, prosecution, or other adverse action for doing so,” the bill states.
Abortion is currently illegal in Missouri except in cases of medical emergencies or to save a woman’s life.
The abortion amendment would eliminate state abortion restrictions. The measure needs 50.1 percent support to pass.
Leading pro-life group SBA Pro-Life America said the bill would “destroy thousands of lives.”
“The abortion lobby’s ballot proposition would destroy thousands of lives. Unborn children whose hearts beat, feel pain, suck their fingers, laugh and survive outside the womb will no longer be protected in Missouri if this extreme bill passes.” said “Missouri will be just as extreme as California in allowing horrific late-term abortions and making taxpayers foot the bill,” said Sue Leavell, Midwest regional director for SBA Pro-Life America.
Missouri is one of nearly a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are working to enact legislation granting the right to kill an unborn child. So far, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Missouri and South Dakota have had the chance to vote on abortion measures this year. Similar bills are in the works in several other states.
