Abortion Amendments Certified for November Ballots in Arizona, Missouri

In the upcoming November elections, voters in Arizona and Missouri will have the opportunity to decide whether access to abortion should be considered a “fundamental right.”

Both states have included propositions on their general election ballots to address this issue.

These citizen-led initiatives, recently certified by officials, share similar language. If passed, they would guarantee the right to abortion up to fetal viability and in cases where a doctor has assessed risks to the mother’s life or health.

If these amendments are successful, Arizona and Missouri will join a growing number of states that have affirmed abortion access following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, which overturned the federal right to abortion.

The campaign organizers revealed on July 3 that they had submitted an unprecedented 823,685 signatures to Fontes’s office, surpassing the required amount by a significant margin.

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The efforts of the petitioners were driven by a legal dispute surrounding an old abortion ban that Arizona legislators voted to revoke in May.

Currently, abortion is legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. However, if the November amendment is passed, legal abortion would be permitted well into the second trimester and, in certain situations, throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.

Expressing their joy over the certification of the amendment on social media, Arizona for Abortion Access urged voters to take the opportunity to “restore and protect the right to access abortion care, once and for all.”

In Missouri, supporters of abortion rights echoed a similar sentiment when the state’s Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative was officially certified.

Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, stated, “As we focus on the November ballot, it is evident that Missourians overwhelmingly endorse reproductive freedom and will have the chance to make their voices heard at the polls.”

“We are prepared to fight so that all Missourians can reclaim the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions,” Sweet added.

Missouri was among the first states to prohibit abortion following the Dobbs decision, which shifted the regulation of abortion back to individual states.

Following the Dobbs ruling, a state law banning abortion under all circumstances except for medical emergencies was enforced.

Sue Liebel, midwestern regional director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, cautioned that if the Missouri amendment is approved, it could result in the loss of “thousands of lives.”

“Unborn children with heartbeats, the ability to feel pain, suck their thumbs, smile, and even survive outside the womb would no longer have protection in Missouri if this radical measure is passed,” Liebel remarked.

“Missouri would become as extreme as California in permitting gruesome late-term abortions and requiring taxpayers to fund them.”

The Planned Parenthood organization, the largest provider of abortions in the country, is supporting the ballot initiative, among other pro-abortion groups.

Liebel highlighted the controversies surrounding Planned Parenthood’s operations in Missouri, including the closure of its Columbia facility in 2018 due to the use of unsanitary equipment during abortions. Additionally, Planned Parenthood physicians admitted in court that they had disregarded state regulations for reporting medical complications from abortions over a 15-year period.

Thus far, voters have consistently supported abortion rights in all ballot initiatives related to abortion since the Dobbs decision. The seven states that have voted on this issue include California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont.

Similar citizen-led initiatives to those in Arizona and Missouri have been approved for the November ballot in Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and South Dakota.

Efforts to secure ballot access are currently in progress in Arkansas, Montana, and Nebraska.