JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this afternoon (Sept. 10) that Amendment 3, which would codify expansive abortion rights within the Missouri Constitution, must be placed on the state ballot, Nov. 5.
“We are extremely disappointed in this decision,” said Susan Klein, a Missouri Baptist pastor’s wife who serves as executive director for Missouri Right to Life. “Essentially, the decision of the court tells anyone, present or future, working to advance any initiative petition in the State of Missouri that it’s OK to not be transparent with the public, it’s OK to violate the legal requirements that are in place to protect the voters and taxpayers of Missouri so that they know what they are signing and know what they are voting for or against on Election Day.
“We at Missouri Right to Life will continue to inform the voters of the extreme nature of Amendment 3, that if passed, it would legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, overturn our parental consent law, our informed consent law and every statute we have protecting mothers and babies. It will, in fact, also give a special legal exception to abortion providers that is not allowed for any other medical personnel.”
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) messengers, in resolutions approved during their annual meetings, have repeatedly called for the end of abortion and the protection of the unborn.
MBC Executive Director Wes Fowler has made clear his opposition to proposed constitutional Amendment 3: “… [H]uman life is distinct, sacred, and of great worth,” Fowler wrote in The Pathway June 17. “… [D]estroying human life through abortion is wrong. If we end up voting on this issue in November, I’m choosing life — and I would humbly ask you to do the same. If we’re truly made by God, in the image of God, and for the glory of God, how can we choose otherwise?”
MBC President Chris Williams, pastor of Fellowship Church in Greenwood, Mo., has also called Missouri Baptists to stand for the sanctity of human life: “Prior to the reversal of Roe v Wade, 8,000 babies were aborted each year,” Williams wrote in The Pathway, May 31. “Thankfully, our state was prepared, in large part due to the church’s influence, to lead the way and establish Missouri as a pro-life state where every baby had the opportunity to flourish. That momentous occasion also kick-started a fight for life in our state. But now there is a well-funded, strategic initiative to enshrine a culture of death in Missouri.”
The office of Missouri Secretary of State John R. “Jay” Ashcroft announced Aug. 13 that pro-abortion advocates had gathered enough signatures to present their proposed state constitutional Amendment 3 to voters during the Nov. 5 general election. But in a lawsuit filed Aug. 22, Thomas More Society attorneys challenged the inclusion of Amendment 3 on the November ballot. The lawsuit alleges that the initiative petition was erroneously certified by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office because it runs afoul of the Missouri Constitution and state statutes.
According to Thomas More attorneys, Amendment 3 would repeal essentially all of Missouri’s state statutes and constitutional provisions regulating reproductive care and technologies, including all existing regulation of abortion, cloning, IVF for stem cell research and so-called gender transition surgery.
By failing to specify the provisions that it would repeal, the attorneys argued, the initiative petition leading to proposed Amendment 3 violated state law. In particular, Missouri Revised Statute Section 116.050 requires that signers of an initiative petition be informed of “[t]he full and correct text” of the initiative, which must “[i]nclude all sections of existing law or of the Constitution which would be repealed by the measure.” (Read more about the lawsuit here.)
In a Sept. 6 ruling, Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh agreed that the initiative petition leading to Amendment 3 didn’t abide by Missouri law, since it failed — as reported in the Missouri Independent — “to include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statutes are apparent.”
However, Limbaugh temporarily stayed an injunction that would have pulled Amendment 3 from the Missouri ballot, giving pro-abortion advocates until today (Tuesday, Sept. 10), to appeal his ruling. Sept. 10 is also the constitutional deadline to print ballots.
The Missouri Supreme Court took up the appeal, heard oral arguments Tuesday morning and ultimately reversed Limbaugh’s ruling in a court order released Tuesday afternoon.
“By a majority vote of this Court, the circuit court’s judgment is reversed,” said the court order, signed by Chief Justice Mary R. Russell. “Respondent John R. Ashcroft shall certify to local election authorities that Amendment 3 be placed on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and shall take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot.”
The Missouri Supreme Court also stated that the secretary of state’s attempt to decertify Amendment 3 on the basis of Limbaugh’s ruling “is a nullity and of no effect,” since the deadline for certifying ballot initiatives has passed. Moreover, the court overruled a motion to hold the secretary of state in contempt because of his attempt to decertify Amendment 3.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — This story originally appeared in The Pathway.)
