JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Missouri voters could choose this fall between a continued ban on abortions and a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion later in a woman’s pregnancy.
The secretary of state’s office had a deadline Tuesday to determine whether an abortion rights initiative had received enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. If it does, it would need approval from a majority of voters to effectively overturn the state’s current restrictions.
Supporters of the initiative have expressed confidence that the measure will reach the ballot after a motion is filed. more than double the required number of signatures.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is also investigating whether there are enough signatures to put on the November ballot initiatives that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, legalize sports betting and open a casino at the popular tourist destination Lake of the Ozarks.
Missouri would join at least half a dozen states voting on abortion rights during the presidential election. The Arizona Secretary of State has certified an abortion rights measure for the ballot Monday. Measures will also go before voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and South Dakota. While not explicitly about abortion rights, a vote in New York would prohibit discrimination based on, among other things, ‘pregnancy outcomes’ and ‘reproductive health care’.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled national right to abortion in 2022, leading to a state-by-state fight in the legislature and a new attempt to let voters decide the issue. Since the ruling, most Republican-controlled states have passed new abortion restrictions while most Democratic states have taken measures to protect access to abortion.
Abortion rights advocates have won in all seven states that have held referendums since 2022: California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade precedent has put into effect a 2019 Missouri law come into effect, banning abortion “except in cases of medical emergency.” The law makes performing or inducing an abortion a crime punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison, though a woman who has an abortion cannot be prosecuted.
Since then, almost no abortions have taken place in Missouri. But that doesn’t mean Missourians aren’t getting abortions. They can still travel to abortion clinics outside the state, including clinics just across the border in Illinois and Kansas.
The Missouri Election Measure would create a right to abortion until a fetus could likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical measures. Fetal viability is generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy, but is shifted down with medical advances. The vote would allow abortions after the viability of the fetus if a health care professional determines it is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
The number of states considering abortion ballot measures could grow. Officials in Montana and Nebraska have yet to determine whether proposed abortion rights initiatives will qualify for a November ballot. Nebraska officials are also evaluating a competing constitutional amendment That would cement the state’s current ban on most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy.