Missouri GOP Moves to Undermine Newly Approved Abortion Rights Amendment

Republican lawmakers propose measures to restrict abortion access and amend the state constitution, challenging the narrow voter-approved abortion rights amendment.

• Missouri voters narrowly passed a constitutional amendment on November 5 guaranteeing abortion rights up to fetal viability, but Republican lawmakers are already working to counteract it.
• Proposals include defining life as beginning at conception, which would classify abortion as unlawful killing and potentially affect in vitro fertilization and embryo handling.
• Additional measures aim to restrict abortion access further, such as requiring rape survivors to file police reports and limiting exceptions for cases like medical emergencies and fetal anomalies.
• Republican lawmakers are also pushing to raise the threshold for passing constitutional amendments, making it harder for voters to bypass the legislature on progressive issues in the future.
• Legal challenges are underway, with Planned Parenthood suing to strike down Missouri's near-total abortion ban and conflicting statutes, while the attorney general pledges to enforce remaining restrictions.

10 Articles

Truthout ProPublica The American Prospect The Kansas City Star St. Louis Post-Dispatch Washington Examiner Newsweek Associated Press The Guardian Associated Press