Missouri Ballot Measure Would Legalize Killing Babies in Abortions Up to Birth

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Mar 10, 2023   |   11:16AM   |   Jefferson City, Missouri

A shady new pro-abortion group filed 11 ballot measures Wednesday in Missouri to make killing unborn babies in abortions a state constitutional right.

The Missouri Independent reports a St. Louis doctor filed the proposed amendments in the Secretary of State’s Office, any one of which would end Missouri’s life-saving pro-life laws.

Samuel H. Lee, of Campaign Life Missouri, expressed confidence that voters will recognize how extreme the proposals are and reject them if any make the 2024 ballot.

“Voters will see through this sham promoted by a self-serving abortion industry, which is only out to make a profit on the lives of women and innocent unborn children,” Lee said.

According to the Independent, a new political action committee called Missourians for Constitutional Freedom is behind the proposals, but little is known about the group and no one returned messages left by several news outlets. Even the abortion chain Planned Parenthood is not involved.

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The group submitted 11 different amendments to the Missouri Constitution, some explicitly allowing abortion up until the moment of birth and eliminating parental consent for minors, according to SBA Pro-Life America. Other proposed amendments appear to permit state lawmakers to protect unborn babies from abortion once they are viable but include broad exceptions that would allow abortions for basically any reason up to birth.

Another alarming provision would allow any person to “provide reproductive health care.” In other words, anyone “could perform or induce an abortion on another person — even on a minor girl!” Lee said.

The language also protects abortionists from legal consequences, meaning back alley abortionists potentially could practice unhindered, injuring and killing mothers and unborn babies and state authorities could not do anything to stop them.

“Some of the 11 proposed constitutional amendments have NO LIMITS whatsoever on when abortions could be performed during a pregnancy – meaning abortion-on-demand would be legal even if done in the third trimester of pregnancy by a non-physician!” Lee said.

Before any of the amendments can be placed on the ballot, the Secretary of State’s office must accept public comments and write a summary of each; then, supporters must gather enough voter signatures for each measure to qualify.

The proposed amendments and public comment form currently are posted on the Missouri Secretary of State website.

Missouri is one of 14 states that protects unborn babies by banning abortions. The abortion ban also protects pregnant mothers by allowing medical care for miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and medical emergencies.

This winter, pro-life state lawmakers also are advancing bills to help pregnant and parenting families by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage, creating a tax deduction for unborn babies and improving access to childcare.

SBA Pro-Life America state affairs director Sue Liebel said abortion activists deceptively portray these proposals as moderate and life-saving, but she believes voters will see through the lies.

“These ballot measures are meant to deceive in order to radically transform Missouri into an abortion-on-demand state. Missouri is a pro-life state and this extremism won’t stand with the people,” Liebel said. “Though each measure may appear slightly different, the shared outcome is they will end lives and erase protections for life in Missouri.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional right to abortion in June, the pro-abortion movement has been trying to create a “right” to abort unborn babies in state constitutions through ballot initiatives. Vermont, California and Michigan passed pro-abortion constitutional amendments in November, and abortion activists are trying to advance similar measures in other states.

Several states have pro-life constitutional amendments that voters passed in recent years, including Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Currently, 14 states are enforcing pro-life laws that prohibit or strictly limit the killing of unborn babies in abortions, and others are fighting in court to do the same. Pro-life leaders estimate tens of thousands of babies’ lives have been saved since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June.

Polls consistently show a strong majority of Americans support legal protections for unborn babies, especially after the first trimester or once their heartbeat is detectable.