ST. LOUIS—Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights are celebrating a judge’s ruling Thursday striking down language describing the amendment that Missouri’s Secretary of State had proposed for placement at polling places in November and online.
Ballot language written by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office said 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.
In a 12 page ruling, Cole County Judge Cotton Walker said late Thursday afternoon that Ashcroft’s language was ”unfair, insufficient, inaccurate and misleading. It is contrary to the language of the Amendment and gives voters the wrong idea of what the Amendment will accomplish.”
“The fair ballot language as drafted by the Secretary says the Amendment will enshrine the right of abortion at any time, while the official summary statement says the Amendment will allow abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability,” Walker wrote. “The Secretary's fair ballot language says that the Amendment will prohibit any regulation of abortion while the summary statement says the Amendment will allow regulation of reproductive health care or improve or maintain the health of the patient. It is not possible to reconcile these conflicting statements. Intentional or not, the Secretary's language sows voter confusion about the effects of the measure.
In the ruling, Judge Walker replaced the Secretary of State’s version with another taken from language largely already approved by other courts as the Amendment’s summary was also challenged.
The new language, if there are no appeals or further challenges, will read as follows:
A "yes" vote establishes a constitutional right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental nterference of that right presumed invalid; removes Missouri's ban on abortion; allows regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient; requires the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care; and allows abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman.
A "no" vote will continue the statutory prohibition of abortion in Missouri.
If passed, this measure may reduce local taxes while the impact to state taxes is unknown.
