Voters in Missouri will decide whether to enshrine the right to an abortion in their state constitution after state officials on Tuesday signed off on the citizen-led initiative.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) certified that the petition received more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Missouri has an almost complete abortion ban and was the first state to enact one in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade more than two years ago. The state has extremely limited exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for survivors of rape or incest.
The amendment would create a right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability. It would prohibit any state regulation of abortion, and supporters say it establishes the right for people to make their own decisions around pregnancy — including abortion, birth control and miscarriage care — free from political interference.
Missouri will join at least five other states this fall with abortion-related ballot initiatives, including other red states looking to overturn current bans. In each state that has put an abortion question on the ballot since Roe was overturned, voters have chosen to protect access.
The amendment will pass if it receives a simple majority of votes.
Posted by John3262005
3 Comments
I hope this passes, although the Missouri legislature has fucked it’s citizens out of voter approved Amendments in the past.
This is also great news for Lucas Kunce, the Democratic senate candidate looking to unseat that widely despised dope Josh Hawley. 🤞
blissouri
If you want to see how afraid the Missouri Legislature is of its voters, don’t miss the other wonderful amendment we’ll vote in: [Ban ranked choice voting and require citizenship to vote](https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Require_Citizenship_to_Vote_and_Prohibit_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Amendment_(2024)). Did they think that non citizens were voting? No, but it’s wonderful ballot candy to convince low information voters to favor extremism.