Missouri Abortion Rights Amendment Confronts Legal Obstacles

Both sides of the debate over enshrining abortion rights in Missouri's constitution have filed last-minute legal challenges. They aim to influence how, and if, the proposal goes before voters. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In response, a campaign is pushing a constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to abortion.

The courts have until September 10 to make changes to the November ballot, according to JoDonn Chaney, spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office. Facing this deadline, two Republican state lawmakers and a prominent anti-abortion leader sued last week to have the amendment thrown out.

Legal Challenges and Arguments

Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Mary Catherine Martin, representing the plaintiffs, stated that Ashcroft's office should never have allowed the amendment on November's ballot. She argued that the measure does not inform voters about the range of abortion regulations and laws that will be overturned if it passes.

"It is a scorched earth campaign, razing our state lawbooks of critical protections for vulnerable women and children, the innocent unborn, parents, and any taxpayer who does not want their money to pay for abortion and other extreme decisions that this Amendment defines as care," Martin said.

The abortion-rights campaign is also suing Ashcroft over how his office describes the measure. According to ballot language written by the Secretary of State's office, "A yes vote will enshrine the right to abortion at any time of a pregnancy in the Missouri Constitution." It adds that it will prohibit any regulation of abortion and any civil or criminal recourse against anyone who performs an abortion and harms or kills a pregnant woman.

Disputes Over Ballot Language

A lawsuit argues that Ashcroft's language is "intentionally argumentative and is likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure." The petition claims that the measure allows lawmakers to regulate abortion after fetal viability and permits medical malpractice and wrongful-death lawsuits.

Chaney said the Secretary of State's office would stand by its current description. "The court can review that information, as often happens," he noted. This is not Ashcroft's first clash with the abortion-rights campaign. Last year, Missouri courts rejected a proposed ballot summary for the amendment written by Ashcroft, ruling it was politically partisan.

The lawsuit filed by the abortion-rights campaign is set to go to trial on September 4. The Missouri amendment is part of a national push for voters to weigh in on abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Measures to protect access have already qualified for ballots this year in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Missouri.

National Context and Legal Battles

Legal fights have emerged nationwide over whether voters can decide these questions and over the exact wording used on ballots and explanatory material. Earlier this week, Arkansas' highest court upheld a decision to keep an abortion-rights ballot initiative off the state's November ballot. The court agreed with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding signature gatherers it hired.

Voters in all seven states with abortion questions on their ballots since 2022 have sided with abortion-rights supporters.

Hearings in Missouri's case have not yet been scheduled.

The ongoing legal battles highlight how contentious and complex the issue of abortion rights remains across different states.