Judge’s ruling imperils Missouri abortion rights ballot initiative
LA TimesA Missouri judge ruled Friday that an abortion rights campaign did not meet legal requirements to qualify its constitutional amendment initiative for the November ballot, potentially thwarting a years-long effort to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. In his ruling, Limbaugh said Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not do enough during the signature-gathering process to inform voters that the measure would undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about what effect it would have. Missouri’s Amendment 3 would amend the state constitution to guarantee an individual’s right to get an abortion and “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care.” A group of abortion opponents last month sued to have the proposal removed from the ballot.