Missouri Supreme Court makes big decision on abortion rights ballot measure!

Jefferson City, Missouri - An abortion rights ballot measure is cleared to go before Missouri voters this November after the state Supreme Court shot down a late-stage challenge.

Missourians take to the streets to protest rightwing efforts to restrict abortion access.
Missourians take to the streets to protest rightwing efforts to restrict abortion access.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered Secretary of State John Ashcroft to direct election officials to put Amendment 3 on the 2024 ballot. If passed, the measure would enshrine in the state constitution the right to an abortion up to fetal viability or to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

Ashcroft certified the amendment for the ballot last month after the proposal garnered more than 380,000 signatures from Missourians across the state.

Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh last week called the measure's fate into question, ruling that it did not adequately notify voters that passage would nullify the state's anti-abortion law currently in effect.

Uncommitted Movement comes out against Trump – but shies away from Harris endorsement
Israel-Gaza War Uncommitted Movement comes out against Trump – but shies away from Harris endorsement

After the 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade, Missouri enacted a near-total abortion ban "except in cases of medical emergency."

Reproductive rights advocates celebrated Tuesday's decision as a step toward undoing the harm caused by the criminalization of abortion care.

"Today’s Missouri Supreme Court decision is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri," Missourians for Constitutional Freedom – the group behind the ballot initiative – said in a statement on X. "The court's ruling ensures that Amendment 3 will appear on the November 5th ballot, giving voters – not politicians – the power to decide on this critical issue."

In addition to Missouri, abortion rights are on the ballot this November in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

More on Abortion Rights: