Petitions to put abortion rights on the ballot in Missouri and Arizona were officially approved this week, adding to a growing list of states where reproductive rights will be before voters in November.
In Missouri, supporters of abortion rights have been pushing to amend the state constitution to allow abortion in the state, where a near-total ban is currently in place.
The ballot measure will present Missouri voters with an opportunity to amend the constitution to establish a right to “make and carry out decisions” about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, while removing the state’s current abortion restrictions.
Sue Liebel, Midwestern regional director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the Missouri ballot measure “would end thousands of lives.”
On Monday, Arizona joined the list of states adding abortion to the ballot.
Missouri and Arizona are now officially on the list of states where voters will have the opportunity to decide whether or not to allow abortions when a ballot initiative was approved this week.
Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of the federal right to an abortion, state-by-state action on the matter was prompted by both ballot measures, which would amend the constitutions of their respective states to enshrine the right to an abortion.
Abortion rights advocates in Missouri have been working to change the state constitution to legalize the procedure, which is currently almost completely prohibited. Roughly 170,000 signatures from six of the eight congressional districts were needed in order for the ballot to be eligible. Jay Ashcroft, the secretary of state, certified on Tuesday that the petition had sufficient signatures to be included on the ballot.
With the passage of the ballot measure, Missouri voters will have the chance to repeal the state’s current abortion restrictions and create a right to “make and carry out decisions” about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives. In cases where the patient’s health warrants an exception, it would permit restrictions or outright bans on abortion after fetal viability is achieved.
Voting “yes” on the ballot measure, according to Tori Schafer, the director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, will end the state’s restrictions on abortion and “restore our freedom and dignity to make decisions around pregnancy and abortion.”. “.
According to Schafer, Missouri currently has one of the strictest abortion prohibitions in the nation, and lawmakers only needed a few minutes to put the law into effect after Roe v. Wade. The restrictions have had “devastating consequences,” Schafer continued. “This can be changed by Missourians.”. By passing Amendment 3, we will have the chance to make our voices heard in November. “.
Sue Liebel, Susan B. Anthony’s Midwest Regional Director. “Would end thousands of lives,” according to a statement from Anthony Pro-Life America. “.
According to Liebel, “Missouri would become as radical as California in that it would allow horrific late-term abortions and force the taxpayer to fund them.”.
Arizona became the latest state to allow abortion on ballots on Monday. If the proposed constitutional amendment is approved, it would forbid punishment of anyone who helps someone get an abortion and establish the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
A total of 383,923 signatures were needed for the Arizona measure. An unprecedented 823,685 signatures were submitted, according to organizers in July, amidst controversy surrounding the potential for a near-total ban resulting from an 1864 law that only permitted exceptions to save the mother’s life. The state currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
In a statement released on Monday, Chris Love, a spokesman for Arizona for Abortion Access, said, “Thousands of local volunteers, and dozens of organizations focused on reproductive rights, healthcare, faith communities, and veterans rights, not to mention millions of Arizonans have been looking forward to this day for more than a year.”.
Voters in Florida, Colorado, South Dakota, New York, Maryland, and Nevada will also be faced with abortion-related measures. Though they have not yet received official approval, similar initiatives are also underway in other states.
