Missouri voters must decide whether to repeal the abortion ban

CNN
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Missouri voters this election will decide whether to effectively reverse their state's near-total abortion ban – one of the strictest in the country – with a ballot measure aimed at enshrining reproductive freedoms in the state's constitution.

It is one of 10 states voting on constitutional amendments protecting reproductive rights this election — and one of five whose vote could repeal an abortion ban or restrictive abortion policy.

If passed, the Missouri ballot measure would establish the right to make reproductive care decisions – including abortions – without interference until the fetus is viable, around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

When the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade repealed in 2022, ending the nation's right to abortion, Missouri became the first state in the country to enact an abortion ban. It has no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest and is one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Missouri law provides an exception for medical emergencies, but not for fetal anomalies or other pregnancy complications. Abortion providers also face the risk of legal liability.

“For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mother. “I’m lucky to have my son, but I wasn’t lucky with my second pregnancy,” a Kansas City, Missouri, woman named only as “Erika” says in a campaign ad for the measure.

“There was a fetal anomaly and to protect myself I needed an abortion, but due to Missouri's total abortion ban, I was unable to receive the treatment I needed in Missouri. Instead, I faced cruel and inhumane barriers.”

Personal stories from women and doctors affected by the ban were central to the campaign to pass the measure, says Erin Schrimpf, spokeswoman for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the group supporting the measure.

“These stories are very well received,” said Schrimpf. “We've really focused on knocking on doors over the last few days. We have had over 2,500 volunteers since the petition collection began.”

Some of those volunteers were doctors frustrated with the restrictions placed on them by state abortion policy, Schrimpf said.

Because the measure specifically refers to people's right to make their own choices about contraception, access to contraception is also on the ballot.

“When we drafted the language, we tried to be considerate of areas where lawmakers have gone too far in the past or where we expect they will go too far in the future,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “If you are pregnant or want contraception in Missouri, we want you to be protected by the state Constitution.”

The effort was met with plenty of opposition, including from state leaders who have launched multiple legal challenges to the measure aimed at keeping it off the ballot.

In a final ruling in September, state Supreme Court justices ordered Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to put the measure back on the ballot and “take all necessary steps to ensure it is on the ballot,” the Associated reported Press.

Ashcroft, who espoused an anti-abortion rights stance during his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, said he would “always fight to protect life.”

Opposition from abortion opponents may have been a blessing, says Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.

“The one thing about politicians trying to undermine direct democracy is that people are excited,” she told CNN. “It wasn’t a challenge for us to get people to mobilize and get excited.”

If Missourians vote to approve the measure, it would take 30 days for the constitutional amendment to take effect and then legal action would have to be taken against the state's current ban and previous abortion restrictions, Wales said.

The abortion ban has driven many doctors out of the state, and as one of the last remaining abortion providers, Planned Parenthood intends to participate in a lawsuit to overturn the state's ban if the measure passes, Wales said.

“The 30-day window gives us time to begin the legal process quickly, and we will immediately explain to the court how the harm is impacting Missourians today,” Wales said. “I expect it will be a few months before we can re-establish abortion care.”

According to Jamille Fields Allsbrook, an assistant professor at the Saint Louis University Center for Health Law Studies, a legal challenge to the existing ban should be straightforward.

“If this constitutional amendment passes, the language is very clear that the intent is to allow abortion in the state of Missouri, and so a judge would really have to try to say that this language is somehow not clear,” she said.

Meanwhile, proponents of the measure are confident they have voter sentiment on their side.

“It's going to be frustrating for Missourians who feel like they voted, that their voices were heard, and that it's not an immediate change, but change is coming, and it's coming quicker than you think,” Wales said.

The stakes are high for residents of Missouri, as well as Arizona, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, where voters also have the opportunity to repeal their abortion bans or restrictive abortion policies.

States with abortion bans have resulted in providers fleeing the state and abortion clinics closing. It will take a lot of work to restore access to these areas even if abortion bans are lifted, Allsbrook said.

“You're faced with the practical issue of reopening clinics, and then you have to get those providers and patients back,” Allsbrook said. “Unfortunately, we are talking about the fact that it will take a long time before we even get back to the level of 2022.”

But organizers in those states hope voters don't feel intimidated, said Dawn Penich, communications director for Arizona's Abortion Access, the group supporting the state's abortion rights measure. She and other advocates will make their final appeal to voters this week.

“We are on everyone’s TVs, on their streaming devices, in their mailboxes and at their doors,” Penich said.

Changes in states with abortion bans won't happen overnight, she said, but for residents of those states, the first step is simple: vote.