Measure to restore abortion rights will be on Missouri's November ballot, court rules

An amendment to restore abortion rights in Missouri will be on the ballot, the state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution is expected to widely undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed.

Hours before the Tuesday deadline for changes to be made to the November ballot, the Supreme Court judges ordered Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to put the measure back on the ballot after he removed it Monday following a county circuit judge's ruling Friday. The order also directs Ashcroft, an abortion opponent, to "take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot."

The court's full opinion on the case was not immediately released Tuesday.

RELATED STORY | Addressing abortion and reproductive rights on the presidential campaign trail

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign backing the measure, lauded the decision.

"Missourians overwhelmingly support reproductive rights, including access to abortion, birth control, and miscarriage care," campaign manager Rachel Sweet said in a statement. "Now, they will have the chance to enshrine these protections in the Missouri Constitution on November 5."

Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, had told Supreme Court judges during rushed Tuesday arguments that the initiative petition "misled voters" by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal.

The amendment is part of a national push to have voters weigh in on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after.

Eight other states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do.

New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there's a dispute about its impact.

RELATED STORY | Federal abortion ban eliminated from Republican party platform

Voting on the polarizing issue could draw more people to the polls, potentially impacting results for the presidency in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes for closely contested state offices. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election.

Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas' highest court upheld a decision to keep an abortion rights initiative off the state's November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.

Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions on their ballots since Roe was overturned have sided with abortion-rights supporters.