Matthew Moore: Yesterday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that an amendment legalizing abortion would remain on the ballot this November. The road to getting this on the ballot has not been a simple one. Joining us to get us up to speed on the twists and turns of this ballot measure is Anna Spoerre, reporter for the Missouri Independent who covers reproductive health care. Anna, welcome to Ozarks at Large.
Anna Spoerre: Thank you for having me.
MM: How will this amendment change the current abortion law in Missouri?
AS: Right now in Missouri, and as it's been since 2022, nearly all abortions are banned in the state with limited exceptions for medical emergencies. According to Department of Health data, we've seen about a dozen abortions a year so far, but that is very, very small numbers compared to what had been. This amendment would legalize abortion in Missouri up until the point of fetal viability, which is generally seen around 22, 23, 24 weeks. And it would also put into place protections, including protections for reproductive healthcare like birth control.
MM: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified the measure in August, but legal challenges arose regarding the “fair ballot language” of the measure. Can you explain what happened there?
AS: Yes, there have been a number of legal challenges over the last year and a half or so when it comes to this amendment. One of the latest was the fair ballot language summary that the Secretary of State's office puts on their website and what is then posted at the ballot box on election day. And the language that our Secretary of State crafted said that a yes vote on Amendment Three would enshrine the right to abortion at any time and pregnancy. That is not true. This specifically would enshrine abortion up until the point of fetal viability with exceptions — like the current law — with exceptions for medical emergencies. It was a fairly long statement. There were other concerns raised as well by the folks behind the amendment. And ultimately our judge ruled last week that the Secretary of State's language was unfair, inaccurate and misleading. And he had to remove that language and replace it with nonpartisan language, if you will.
MM: Last week, a circuit judge ruled that ‘the coalition behind the citizen-led ballot measure failed to meet the sufficiency requirement” and the measure should be removed from the ballot. The case bypassed the court of appeals and went directly to the Supreme Court. Can you explain the circuit judge’s ruling and why it went directly to the Supreme Court?
AS: Late last month, a number of anti-abortion lawmakers and activists brought forward a lawsuit raising a number of concerns with the ballot initiative. The one in particular that the Cole County judge ended up honing in on was the language saying that initiative petition efforts have to include any current state statutes that would be repealed if they pass. So the anti-abortion folks argued that this initiative petition didn't include any statutes that would be repealed. Attorneys for the coalition behind the amendment said, well that's because on day one of this passes nothing would literally be repealed from the books. At the end of the day, Cole county Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled in favor of the anti-abortion plaintiffs and said that the initiative petition should have included exact state statute, including the current state abortion ban.
MM: On Monday, while the case was being heard by the state Supreme Court, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decided he was going to decertify the measure that he had previously certified. Why?
AS: Yes, that was perhaps an unprecedented move by the secretary of state. He in court only a couple days earlier an attorney representing him had argued that he still believed that he correctly certified the measure. The secretary of state said that over the weekend following the judges ruling on Friday, he reviewed the law again and came to the conclusion that he was incorrect. And so, he attempted to do certify it. Ultimately, the Missouri Supreme Court said he did not have the authority anymore to do that and that he had missed his deadline.
MM: Ultimately the Supreme Court ruled that the measure would be on the ballot, just hours before the deadline to make sure it would be on the ballot this November. What’s next?
AS: We don't have the opinions yet from the Supreme Court. They were working under a very tight deadline to even get the decision out. But it seems that they sided with the coalition behind the amendment and the fact that the abortion measure will not literally repeal the current abortion ban, but rather just supersede it, is significant. And I think it points to what's next. You know, this we have a few weeks left until the election years will be a lot of campaigning around this amendment. And if it does ultimately pass, I think we can expect a lot more litigation, because as the coalition behind the amendment has said, it's going to take court to figure out exactly how this amendment is defined going forward. So, I think we can expect to be waiting for judges' rulings quite often over the next couple of months.
MM: Have you heard anything from advocacy groups on either side of the issue at this point?
AS: I think on both sides, everyone is very energized to just get out there and knock doors with a lot of grassroots momentum ahead of the election.
You can find more of Anna’s reporting at the Missouri Independent, a part of the States Newsroom network.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
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