Missouri’s abortion ballot measure upheld by state’s high court

An amendment to enact abortion protections in Missouri’s state constitution will be on the ballot in November, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Sept. 10.

The proposal, if approved by voters, would largely undo the state’s near-total abortion ban it adopted in the wake of the ??U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022 that reversed its previous federal abortion precedent.

Missouri’s high court issued its ruling just hours before the deadline later the same day for changes to be made to the November ballot, as those ballots are set to be printed.

Pro-life advocates sued to block the amendment from the ballot, arguing state law requires petition signers “to be fully informed” about such proposals, and argued that the initiative petition in effect “misled voters,” because it did not list all the state laws related to abortion it would repeal. But supporters of the effort argued that the ballot was properly approved by the requisite number of Missouri residents.

The measure was previously decertified by Republican Secretary of State John R. “Jay” Ashcroft, after a lower court judge ruled Sept. 6 the amendment should be removed over its failure to include any statute or provision — such as the state’s ban on abortion except in cases of medical emergency — that would be affected by its passage.

But the Missouri Supreme Court ordered Ashcroft to reverse that action and “take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot.”

As arguments were taking place inside the court building, outside about 60 people, most wearing red, prayed on the sidewalk. Most held up red signs saying, “Follow the law. No on 3,” so passersby on the street could see them. A few held the signs toward the building, so they could be read from inside.

The Missouri Catholic Conference has opposed the measure, known as Amendment 3, arguing in an August statement it would “effectively repeal long-standing health and safety standards for women.” Among the laws potentially affected by Amendment 3, it said, were “basic health and safety requirements for clinics where abortions are performed, requiring that abortions be performed only by a physician, informed consent requirements, laws prohibiting public funding of abortion, and parental consent requirements before a minor’s abortion.”

“We urge all Missourians of good will to stand for the health and safety of women and their preborn children and oppose Amendment 3,” the statement said.

After the ruling, the conference, which is the public policy agency of the state’s four Catholic dioceses, expressed disappointment. “Missourians should have the right to know what laws will be overturned when they are asked to sign an initiative petition,” it stated.

The conference pledged to continue educating the public on the dangers this amendment poses to women’s health by removing even basic safeguards currently in law, adding, “We encourage the faithful to continue to pray for a conversion of hearts and minds so that the pro-abortion Amendment 3 is defeated.”

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. After the Dobbs decision, church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the church’s concern for both mother and child and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.

Mary Catherine Martin, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based public interest firm that challenged Amendment 3, called the high court’s ruling “a failure to protect voters.”

“It is deeply unfortunate the court decided to ignore laws that protect voters in order to satisfy pro-abortion activists who intentionally omitted critical information from the initiative petition,” she said.

“I’m very disappointed in the Supreme Court,” said Amanda Durbin, president of the board of directors of Ray of Hope Pregnancy Care Ministries in Macon, Mo.,

“Not just because I’m against Amendment 3, but more because it’s so untruthful for all voters,” Durbin, a member of St. Mary Parish in Shelbina, told The Catholic Missourian, newspaper of the Diocese of Jefferson City.

“We are ready to move forward and spread the truth,” she stated. “We have to remember that Jesus lost an unfair trial, too, but victory was his beyond what his followers could understand that day. Victory will again be his.”

The group supporting the measure, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, the decision “is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri. The court’s ruling ensures that Amendment 3 will appear on the November 5th ballot, giving voters — not politicians — the power to decide on this critical issue.”

Abortion rates, which began steadily rising in 2017 after a nearly three decade decline, have further increased at the national level after the Dobbs decision, according to some available data. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion data, abortions in 2023 were up 11 percent over 2020. The 2023 data represents the first full year after Dobbs created what Guttmacher called a “fractured abortion landscape” as states enacted restrictions on, or protections of, abortion access.

Election Day is Nov. 5.

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