Missouri lawmakers approve referendum to repeal abortion-rights amendment

[In It to Win It]

WaPo - Gift Link

The Missouri Senate approved a proposal late Wednesday that will place a restrictive abortion referendum on the ballot probably next year, imperiling state constitutional protections for the procedure passed just six months ago.

The 2024 citizen-led measure passed 52 percent to 48 percent after surviving a lengthy court battle. It enshrined in the Missouri Constitution “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care” up until fetal viability, about 24 weeks. Missouri state law had allowed abortions only to save a woman’s life, with no exceptions for rape and incest.

Republican legislators now want to reverse that outcome and are asking Missourians to vote on a new constitutional amendment that would repeal Amendment 3 and ban most abortions except for medical emergencies, rape and incest, which can only be performed no later than 12 weeks and if the offense was reported to law enforcement prior to the procedure.

Abortion rights advocates crowded the Senate chamber in the state capital in Jefferson City, shouting “stop the ban” as the lawmakers voted 21-11 to approve the referendum measure in the final week of their session. Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Platte County, posted on X during the debate, “Missouri, the fight to MAINTAIN our bodily autonomy is on.”

The executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, Mallory Schwarz, noted afterward that 1.5 million Missouri residents had voted for abortion rights last year. The resolution that just passed is “antiabortion politicians … showing us they think Missourians are disposable,” Schwarz said in a statement.