Current:Home > NewsAdvocates seek rewrite of Missouri abortion-rights ballot measure language -Balance Wealth Academy
Advocates seek rewrite of Missouri abortion-rights ballot measure language
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:37:03
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge will rule Thursday on whether the Republican secretary of state’s official description of an abortion-rights amendment on November’s ballot is misleading.
At issue is a proposed amendment to Missouri’s Constitution that would restore abortion rights in the state, which banned almost all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights this fall — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota.
In Missouri, ballot language is displayed at polling centers to help voters understand the impact of voting “yes” or “no” on sometimes complicated ballot measures.
Ballot language written by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office says a “yes” vote on the abortion-rights measure would enshrine “the right to abortion at any time of a pregnancy in the Missouri Constitution.”
“Additionally, it will 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 Ashcroft’s language.
The amendment itself states that the government shall not infringe on an individual’s right to “reproductive freedom,” which is defined as “all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”
Tori Schafer, a lawyer for the woman who proposed the amendment, said Ashcroft’s official description of the measure is “argumentative, misleading and inaccurate.” She asked Cole County Judge Cotton Walker to rewrite Ashcroft’s ballot language.
“Missourians are entitled to fair, accurate, and sufficient language that will allow them to cast an informed vote for or against the Amendment without being subjected to the Secretary of State’s disinformation,” the plaintiff’s lawyers wrote in a court brief.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Crane defended Ashcroft’s summary in court. He pointed to a clause in the amendment protecting “any person” from prosecution or penalties if they consentually assist a person exercise their right to reproductive freedom. Crane said if enacted, that provision would render any abortion regulations toothless.
“The government will be effectively unable to enforce any restrictions on abortions,” Crane said.
Walker said he will make a decision Thursday.
This is the second time Ashcroft and the abortion-rights campaign have clashed over his official descriptions of the amendment.
The campaign in 2023 also sued Ashcroft over how his office described the amendment in a ballot summary. Ballot summaries are high-level overviews of amendments, similar to ballot language. But summaries are included on ballots.
Ashcroft’s ballot summary said the measure would allow “dangerous and unregulated abortions until live birth.”
A three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals Ashcroft’s summary was politically partisan and rewrote it.
veryGood! (17536)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Romantic Weekend Includes Wedding and U.S. Open Dates
- Brandon Sanderson's next Stormlight Archive book is coming. New fans should start elsewhere
- Shooting attack at the West Bank-Jordan border crossing kills 3 Israelis
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- How to pick the best preschool or child care center for your child
- Colorado vs. Nebraska score: Highlights from Cornhuskers football win over Buffaloes today
- Which NFL teams could stumble out of the gate this season?
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Iowa judge rules against Libertarian candidates, keeping their names off the ballot for Congress
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Michigan groom accused of running over groomsman, killing him, bride arrested, too
- Maui’s toxic debris could fill 5 football fields 5 stories deep. Where will it end up?
- Her father listened as she was shot in the head at Taco Bell. What he wants you to know.
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- 10 unwritten rules of youth sports: Parents can prevent fights with this 24-hour rule
- ‘The Room Next Door’ wins top prize at Venice Film Festival
- A mural honoring scientists hung in Pfizer’s NYC lobby for 60 years. Now it’s up for grabs
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Recreational marijuana sales begin on North Carolina tribal land, drug illegal in state otherwise
Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods Prove Their Friendship is Strong 5 Years After Feud
Michigan mess and Texas triumph headline college football Week 2 winners and losers
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
Florida high school football player dies after collapsing during game
Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explains why he made Dak Prescott highest-paid player in NFL