Missouri Supreme Court Rules Measure Restoring Abortion Rights Will Be On Ballot

(AP) — An amendment to restore abortion rights in Missouri will be on the ballot, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The order also directs Ashcroft, an abortion opponent, to “take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot.” The court’s full opinion on the case was not immediately released Tuesday. “Missourians overwhelmingly support reproductive rights, including access to abortion, birth control, and miscarriage care,” campaign manager Rachel Sweet said in a statement. “Now, they will have the chance to enshrine these protections in the Missouri Constitution on November 5.” Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, had told Supreme Court judges during rushed Tuesday arguments that the initiative petition “misled voters” by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal. Eight other states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do. New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about its impact. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election. In August, Arkansas’ highest court upheld a decision to keep an abortion rights initiative off the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired. ___ This story has been corrected to show that eight states outside Missouri will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights, not nine. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/missouri-abortion-rights-ballot-measure_n_66e0a5a1e4b03060cae3d9a8