Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has announced two initiative petitions – one dealing with abortion , the other relating to home care – have been approved for circulation. This means the supporters of these initiatives are now allowed to begin collecting signatures needed to place the issue on the November ballot.
The abortion measure would ask Missourians to change state law to make it illegal for a doctor to provide a woman with an abortion at any time during her pregnancy without extensive evaluations unless the doctor determines the procedure is necessary for the health of the woman. Approval would also make it illegal for anyone, other than a physician or a licensed pharmacist with a prescription to assist a woman to terminate her own pregnancy.
The other proposal asks Missouri voters to change the law to enable the elderly and Missourians with disabilities to continue living independently in their homes by creating the Missouri Quality Homecare Council to ensure the availability of quality home care services under the Medicaid program by recruiting, training, and stabilizing the home care workforce.
Sponsors of each proposal would have to collect between 86,000 and 95,000 valid signatures before the proposal could be placed on the ballot.
