Abortion in Missouri: A look at key claims in the 'decline to sign' effort

They have until 5 p.m. Sunday, May 5, to submit 171,592 valid signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office.

Missouri is among several other states, including Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Ohio, that are now using or have used ballot initiatives to place abortion protection in the state constitution. The cascade of ballot initiatives was spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion previously guaranteed by Roe v. Wade, and left abortion regulation up to each individual state.

Here's a closer look at key claims by Missouri's anti-abortion groups about the proposed constitutional amendment and how lawyers and legal experts assess them.

—Health regulation and licensure

Missouri Stands with Women spokeswoman Stephanie Bell said the basis for concerns over regulation of abortion clinics comes from amendment language that says "any denial, interference, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom shall be presumed invalid." Under this language, Bell said, existing laws that protect women's health would be presumed invalid.

Missouri Right to Life, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment, contends health and safety standards for abortion clinics and licensure requirements for abortion providers would be eliminated if the amendment is passed by voters.

But Schafer, with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said that's wrong.

"Our amendment, when it's passed, requires that any health regulations put in place are truly legitimate, and they will be allowed if they truly advance the health and safety of the patient," she said.

Schafer said the amendment responds to "TRAP laws" — targeted regulation of abortion providers — that were in place before Missouri's near-total abortion ban took effect with the Dobbs decision.

"(TRAP laws) weren't actually medically necessary. They were medically inappropriate, and they were intended to make abortion unavailable," Schafer said.

...continued

swipe to next page