Missouri’s pro-life leaders prepare to defeat ‘extreme’ pro-abortion ballot measure 

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St. Louis, Mo., Aug 14, 2024 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

Pro-life leaders in Missouri are urging voters to reject a proposed “reproductive freedom” constitutional amendment that would enshrine a so-called “right to abortion at any time of a pregnancy” — a legal change that would represent a significant turnaround after years of pro-life gains in the Midwestern state. 

Amendment 3, which on Tuesday was certified to appear on the November ballot after garnering thousands of signatures, would “prohibit any regulation of abortion, including regulations designed to protect women undergoing abortions and prohibit any civil or criminal recourse against anyone who performs an abortion and hurts or kills the pregnant women,” according to the Secretary of State’s office. 

Missouri law currently protects unborn babies throughout all of pregnancy with the only exception being cases of “medical emergency.” Missouri is now one of eight states with at least one abortion-related measure on the ballot. Election day is Nov. 5. 

The Missouri Catholic Conference, which advocates policy on behalf of the state’s Catholic bishops, called the measure “an extreme constitutional amendment that legalizes abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no protections for the preborn child, even when the child is capable of feeling pain.”

“The Missouri Catholic Conference will be working to inform the public about this deceptively worded amendment. We urge all Missourians of good will to stand for the health and safety of women and their preborn children and oppose Amendment 3,” the MCC said in a statement shared with CNA.  

Susan Klein, executive director of Missouri Right to Life (MRL), told CNA Wednesday that their group has been “preparing for two years” to fight the proposed amendment should it appear on the ballot. She said MRL has formed a coalition of pro-life groups and religious denominations across the state to educate voters about the amendment.

Klein said Missouri voters need to know the amendment would nullify several of Missouri’s strong pro-life protections currently in place, including laws against partial-birth abortion, parental notification, and the ability for women to sue abortion providers for malpractice. 

Although the amendment language mentions that laws could be passed to restrict abortion past the point of “fetal viability,” the amendment simultaneously prohibits any interference with an abortion that a doctor determines is necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” 

“We’re not going to be able to regulate abortion if this amendment passes. We’re not going to be able to regulate safety in any way — not that abortion is safe at all — but we’re not going to be able to regulate any safety boundaries for a woman going in for an abortion,” Klein said. 

“This is an extreme measure that I would hope that people would think about, and vote no. If they want to talk about other instances or exceptions, this is not the amendment that does that. This amendment is [about] abortion, no boundaries, all nine months of pregnancy.”

In addition, pro-abortion supporters have argued that Missouri’s pro-life laws prevent care for women experiencing ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. Klein reiterated that Missouri law includes exceptions for the life of the mother,ensuring that women suffering from ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages are given the care they need. (As CNA has previously reported, treatments for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages are not abortions.)

Missouri Right to Life is running a “Vote No on Amendment 3” campaign, urging all voters to reject the amendment, Klein said. The campaign includes educational efforts, community outreach, and voter mobilization activities such as door-knocking, phone banking, and polling station presence. MRL also provides yard signs and informational materials for distribution. 

Klein encouraged anyone looking to get involved in MRL’s efforts to contact their office in Jefferson City. 

“Once something goes in the constitution, it’s difficult to get out. It’s not impossible, but it is difficult. When you’re talking about enshrining in our state constitution the right to kill babies with no boundaries, I would hope that [voters] would stop and think about that,” she said. 

Deacon Sam Lee, a deacon with the Archdiocese of St. Louis and a longtime pro-life lobbyist in Jefferson City, told CNA that he has been involved in a “robust decline-to-sign effort” organized by various religious and pro-life groups, including the Missouri Catholic Conference and other religious denominations in the state, to oppose the amendment. He said he has heard about Catholic parishes that are engaged in voter registration efforts and are in the process are educating voters about the amendment. 

Lee said similar pro-abortion amendment efforts in other states, most recently Ohio, have made it clear that the broad language of “reproductive freedom” can encompass far more than abortion. In other states, for instance, advocates have warned that “reproductive freedom” amendments could enshrine a “right” for minors to seek permanent gender-transition procedures. 

“It’s unprecedented, the scope of this amendment. That’s one of the things we’re trying to explain to voters,” Lee said of the Missouri proposal. 

“It’s just not about abortion. It’s about a whole range of things that are within the realm of reproductive health care. But that’s not even defined [in the amendment] in a way that you know what ‘reproductive healthcare’ includes.”

Lee said his pro-life lobbying efforts are not limited to opposing abortion but extend to advocating for childcare and other services that support women both before and after birth. He mentioned that a group he works with, Missouri Stands with Women, is actively involved in promoting alternatives to abortion and ensuring that women have access to the resources they need to thrive. 

He noted that some Catholics may be confused about or disagree with the Church’s stance on abortion, perhaps viewing Missouri’s current pro-life laws as too strict — while not realizing that the far-reaching abortion amendment represents what he called a “false choice.” 

In light of this, Lee emphasized the role of lay people in disseminating pro-life messages within their circles and in their wider community, rather than relying solely on the bishops.

“The Church can’t shy away from teaching what’s true, or shy away from any moral teaching. That’s true in a whole range of areas,” Lee said. 

“[The Church] relies on the lay faithful to get the message out to their family members, coworkers, neighbors, whether those folks are Catholic or not.”