The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that a ballot measure aimed at enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution is specific enough to be presented to voters in November. The ruling came on Tuesday afternoon, reversing a lower court’s decision that had previously invalidated the measure.
The Washington Examiner reported that the decision clears the path for voters to decide on the issue this fall, in the midst of ongoing debates over reproductive rights across the country.
The legal journey to this decision began when a lower-court judge ruled the measure invalid due to its failure to clearly specify which existing laws it would repeal.
The Missouri Supreme Court took up the issue after proponents of the ballot measure appealed the lower court’s ruling. The measure, known as Amendment 3, would allow abortions up until fetal viability, typically around 24 weeks.
Chief Justice Mary R. Russell delivered the court’s decision, reversing the prior ruling. “By a majority vote of this Court, the circuit court’s judgment is reversed,” Russell wrote, marking a significant shift in the legal proceedings surrounding the ballot measure.
The decision followed a brief hearing earlier that day before all seven of the court’s judges, four of whom are women and five of whom were appointed by Republican governors. The hearing lasted less than an hour, with judges posing only a few clarifying questions to the attorneys present.
Proponents of the measure, including the campaign group Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, argued that the measure is crucial to preserving reproductive healthcare rights in Missouri.
This group is part of a broader movement to protect abortion access across several states, many of which have included similar measures on their ballots for this fall.
Before the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decertified the measure on Monday, calling it “deficient.”
Ashcroft’s action followed a series of legal maneuvers that began after a lower-court ruling on Friday, which had invalidated the measure. Proponents of the amendment quickly responded, asking the state’s high court to hold Ashcroft in contempt for his action.
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney representing the ballot initiative campaign, argued before the court on Tuesday that Ashcroft’s actions showed contempt for the legal process. “It’s open contempt for your authority. It’s open contempt for the rule of law,” Hatfield stated.
The campaign argued that Ashcroft had overstepped his role and that the decision on the measure’s certification rested with the courts, not with the secretary of state. Hatfield emphasized that the court had the final say on whether the measure would appear on the November ballot.
Opponents of Amendment 3 have expressed concern that the language of the measure is misleading.
An attorney for the Thomas More Society, Mary Catherine Martin, argued that the ballot language does not make clear the full implications of the measure. According to Martin, the language could confuse voters about its potential to limit the ability of state lawmakers to regulate abortion in the future.
“There is no way to know if the proponents of this radical amendment would have gathered enough signatures to place this on the ballot if the truth about the staggering scope of laws Amendment 3 invalidates had been disclosed,” opponents said in a statement last week.
Martin echoed this sentiment in court, stating that voters would have “no way of knowing” the extent to which the amendment would limit lawmakers’ power over abortion regulation.
The Missouri ruling comes as other states, including Arizona and Florida, also prepare to put abortion measures on their ballots this fall.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, every ballot measure aimed at preserving or expanding abortion access has passed.
Missouri’s current abortion law, a trigger law that went into effect after Roe fell, makes abortion illegal in almost all cases, except when it is necessary to save the life or health of the mother. The proposed Amendment 3 would change this by allowing abortions until about 24 weeks of pregnancy, creating a significant shift in the state’s reproductive healthcare landscape.
With Missouri now added to the list of states debating abortion rights through ballot measures, the court’s ruling could have implications beyond state borders. As a battleground in the national conversation on reproductive rights, Missouri’s vote this fall could become a bellwether for how other states handle the issue in future elections.
The fight over Amendment 3 continues to draw attention as both proponents and opponents gear up for a heated campaign in the months leading up to November. Supporters argue that the amendment is a necessary step to ensure reproductive freedom, while critics claim that it undermines existing laws without making its full impact clear to voters.
