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A proposed amendment that would legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in Missouri could get yanked from the November ballot after Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled it invalid.
Missouri law mandates that petitions like the unlimited abortion petition filed by the ill-named Missourians for Constitutional Freedom (MCF) earlier this year “include all sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the measure.” Limbaugh, however, found that the petition to add abortion through birth to the ballot “included no disclaimer or any equivalent to a disclaimer” that warned Missourians about the extent of its reach.
“The full and correct text failed to identify any ‘sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the measure,’” Limbaugh wrote.
In his decision, Limbaugh claimed the “unique issues involved” and the “lack of direct precedent” kept him from removing the amendment on the spot.
He warned the petitioners, however, that they only have until the constitutional ballot printing deadline on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to appeal the ruling before the measure faces removal. MCF, which called Limbaugh’s ruling a “profound injustice,” swore to appeal.
Limbaugh’s ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by pro-life legislators and activists against Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. They argued that “Missourians have a constitutional right to know what laws their votes would overturn before deciding to sign initiative petitions.”
Ashcroft’s office certified the proposed amendment in August after Missouri Republicans failed to curb the abortion activists’ deceptive efforts to sneak unlimited abortion into the deep red state. Instead of killing Democrats’ 50-hour filibuster and passing legislation that would have fortified the constitutional amendment, the state’s GOP senators adjourned the upper chamber instead.
Missouri law currently bars abortions “except in cases of medical emergency.” The proposed amendment, however, would permanently permit abortion by adding a “right to reproductive freedom” to the state constitution.
The fair ballot language included on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website accurately notes that the amendment authorizes “abortion at any time of a pregnancy.” The amendment’s deliberately vague wording, however, would allow anyone in the state to “make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to” what it calls “reproductive health care.”
The proposed amendment would also hinder legislators from enacting regulations “designed to protect women undergoing abortions and prohibit any civil or criminal recourse against anyone who performs an abortion and hurts or kills the pregnant women,” effectively rendering Missouri’s many current protections for women and babies moot.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
