The fate of a proposal to overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban could be in jeopardy.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled Friday that Amendment 3 is “in blatant violation” of requirements that determine if an initiative can be placed on the November general election ballot. In his decision, Judge Limbaugh said that Missourians for Constitutional Freedom and Dr. Anna Fitz-James, who are heading the abortion rights campaign, “purposefully” failed to include statutes or provisions that will be repealed if voters approve the proposal.
While finding that the initiative was in violation of state law, his ruling did not prevent it from going on the ballot.
The abortion rights campaign has filed an appeal today with the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District. The court has ordered that the case be transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The clock is ticking – the deadline for removing initiatives from the November ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The amendment would ask Missouri voters to decide if abortions should be legalized again. Amendment 3 would allow abortion but also give state lawmakers some say in regulating abortion after the point in a pregnancy when the fetus is likely to survive outside of the uterus. Fetal viability is around six months.
The Thomas More Society filed the lawsuit on behalf of Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, pro-life advocate Kathy Forck, and Our Lady’s Inn President and CEO Peggy Forrest. They say the ballot measure violates the state constitution by including more than one subject and it fails to spell out which laws and provisions would be repealed if it was approved.
“Amendment 3 is designed to commit Missourians to allowing and funding an enormous range of decisions, even by children, far beyond just abortion,” said Mary Catherine Martin, attorney for Thomas More Society. “The court’s favorable decision relies on only the most glaring decision among a range of consequences hidden by the drafters of Amendment 3. We are confident the reviewing court will also hold that Missouri voters have a right to know what they are voting on, and to vote on one matter at a time.”
Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said the fight is far from over.
“Missourians for Constitutional Freedom remains unwavering in our mission to ensure Missourians have the right to vote on reproductive freedom on November 5. The court’s decision to block Amendment 3 from appearing on the ballot is a profound injustice to the initiative petition process and undermines the rights of the 380,000 Missourians who signed our petition demanding a voice on this critical issue,” Sweet said.”
Friday’s court ruling follows another Cole County judge’s ruling one day earlier. In a Thursday court ruling from Judge Cotton Walker, he said that Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s wording to describe the abortion rights proposal is “unfair, inaccurate, insufficient, and misleading.”
Ashcroft’s wording said a “yes” vote would enshrine abortion rights “at any time of a pregnancy,” bar abortion regulations “designed to protect women” and prohibit legal recourse “against anyone who performs an abortion and hurts or kills the pregnant women.”
Friday’s judgement can be found here.
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