Arizona, Missouri abortion ballot measures advance

State officials in Arizona and Missouri greenlit abortion ballot initiatives this week, adding to the number of states that will vote on abortion in November

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) on Tuesday certified that the petition received more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. If passed, the amendment would create a right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability and would make Missouri the first state to overturn an abortion ban at the ballot box.

Missouri currently has an almost complete abortion ban and was the first state to enact one in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade more than two years ago. The state has extremely limited exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for survivors of rape or incest.

In Arizona, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) certified the initiative’s signatures on Monday, but the amendment still has an unresolved legal challenge from anti-abortion group Arizona Right to Life.

The state verified more than 577,000 signatures in favor of the amendment, the highest total for a citizen initiative in Arizona’s history.

“At every turn, opponents of reproductive freedom and the right of voters to decide for themselves have challenged this grassroots, hugely popular amendment,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a ballot initiative organization that’s committed $15 million this election cycle to abortion amendments.

Abortion is banned after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona, with a medical exception for the life of the mother, but not for rape or incest.

The two certifications on Tuesday bring the number of abortion ballots aimed at protecting abortion rights around the country up to eight this November.

Signatures for two competing ballot measures — one to protect abortion up to the point of viability and another banning them during the second and third trimesters — have been submitted in Nebraska. Signatures for another ballot measure protecting access have also been submitted in Montana.