Missouri Supreme Court keeps pro-abortion amendment on November ballot

St. Louis, Mo., Sep 10, 2024 / 16:20 pm

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment to dramatically expand abortion in the state will remain on the Nov. 5 ballot after a circuit judge blocked the measure earlier this week.  

The ruling dealt a blow to pro-life activists in the state, who had argued that the final proposed language not only violates state law by failing to list which laws it would repeal but also misleads voters about the scope and gravity of what they will be voting for. A Catholic law firm led the legal effort to get the proposed amendment struck from the ballot. 

Missouri’s proposed Amendment 3, which originally qualified for the November ballot in August after garnering thousands of signatures, would mandate that the government “shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including “prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”

Missouri law currently protects unborn babies throughout all of pregnancy with the only exception being cases of “medical emergency.” With the Tuesday ruling, Missouri remains one of 10 states that will vote on abortion-related measures in November. 

In a brief order issued in the early afternoon Sept. 10 — just hours before the state deadline for finalizing the November ballot — the Missouri Supreme Court overruled a lower court’s opinion that held that the proposed amendment violates state law by failing to mention the specific laws to be repealed if voters approve the measure. The court, under Chief Justice Mary Russell, said opinions would follow. 

The Thomas More Society, a Catholic public interest law firm based in Chicago, had filed the lawsuit challenging the pro-abortion amendment language in August on behalf of Missouri state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, pro-life advocate Kathy Forck, state Rep. Hannah Kelly, and Peggy Forrest, president and CEO of Our Lady’s Inn, a St. Louis pro-life pregnancy center. 

The Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) had urged Catholics to pray and fast for the amendment’s removal from the ballot. 

In a statement to CNA, MCC executive director Jamie Morris expressed disappointment with the court’s ruling.

“Missourians should have the right to know what laws will be overturned when they are asked to sign an initiative petition. The Missouri Catholic Conference will continue to educate the public on the dangers this amendment poses to women’s health by removing even basic safeguards currently in law,“ Morris said.

“We encourage the faithful to continue to pray for a conversion of hearts and minds so that the pro-abortion Amendment 3 is defeated.“

In his Sept. 6 ruling, Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh wrote that the defendants’ failure to “include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statutes are apparent, is in blatant violation of” state law. 

Ahead of the Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had on Monday decertified Amendment 3 from the November ballot, citing the lower court’s ruling. Following the Supreme Court’s opinion, Ashcroft will be required to recertify the proposed amendment. 

A hearing before the Missouri Supreme Court took place this morning at 8:30 a.m.

During the oral arguments before the Missouri Supreme Court, Charles Hatfield of Stinson LLP in Jefferson City, arguing for the pro-amendment side, said Article 3, Section 49 of the Missouri Constitution reserves to the people the right to propose amendments through an initiative process — a right that he said ought to be upheld.

Mary Catherine Martin of the Thomas More Society countered by arguing that voters need to be fully informed to exercise their rights properly and argued that the amendment’s failure to disclose significant impacts misleads voters.

Martin said in a statement following the ruling that the decision “is a failure to protect voters by not upholding state laws that ensure voters are fully informed going into the ballot box.“

“Missouri’s Amendment 3 will have far-reaching implications on the state’s abortion laws and well beyond, repealing dozens of laws that protect the unborn, pregnant women, parents, and children — a reality that the initiative campaign intentionally hid from voters. We implore Missourians to research and study the text and effects of Amendment 3 before going to the voting booth,“ Martin said.

This is a developing story.