JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to allow an abortion-rights amendment on state ballots this November.
"By a majority vote of this Court, the circuit court’s judgment is reversed. Respondent John R. Ashcroft shall certify to local election authorities that Amendment 3 be placed on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot and shall take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot," the ruling by Chief Justice Mary Russell said.
The court's ruling may have come down to Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's original certification of the amendment on Aug. 13. In the ruling, Russell said Ashcroft's attempt to remove the amendment from the ballot on Monday, weeks after the statutory deadline to do so, was null and had no effect.
Supporters of the amendment filed a motion to hold Ashcroft in contempt of court for trying to decertify and remove the amendment from the ballot before the court's decision. The court overruled that motion.
In a statement following the ruling, Ashcroft said, "I am disappointed in today’s court ruling and curious to read the opinion to see how they came to that conclusion. I would encourage every Missourian -before they vote - to read the actual text of this amendment."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Jay Ashcroft seeks to pull abortion amendment off Missouri ballot weeks after approving it
The state's highest court had mere hours to issue the final say on the measure before a deadline to make changes to the ballot. The amendment aims to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and was expected to widely undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed.
Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents who sued to remove the amendment, told judges that Missouri's law requires petition signers "to be fully informed" and argued that the initiative petition "misled voters" by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal.
Martin, an attorney for the Thomas More Society, said this in court Tuesday, "We have argued, that the scope of Amendment 3, just as squarely as it hits abortion, also hits cloning and IVF, which are in Article Three, Section 308d of our Constitution."
Martin said in a statement that she is also disappointed in the ruling: “The Missouri Supreme Court’s decision to allow Amendment 3 to remain on the November ballot is a failure to protect voters, by not upholding state laws that ensure voters are fully informed going into the ballot box.
"It is deeply unfortunate the court decided to ignore laws that protect voters in order to satisfy pro-abortion activists who intentionally omitted critical information from the initiative petition. This ruling takes away important protections from all Missouri citizens to serve the well-funded political goals of a few. Missouri’s Amendment 3 will have far-reaching implications on the state’s abortion laws and well beyond, repealing dozens of laws that protect the unborn, pregnant women, parents, and children—a reality that the initiative campaign intentionally hid from voters. We implore Missourians to research and study the text and effects of Amendment 3 before going to the voting booth."
The group of lawmakers and anti-abortion activists behind the lawsuit released a joint statement saying they are not done fighting.
“This MIssouri Supreme Court turned a blind eye and ruled Missourians don’t have to be fully informed about the laws their votes may overturn before signing initiative petitions," said Missouri State Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Pro-Life Activist Kathy Forck, State Rep. Hannah Kelly, and Peggy Forrest. "Amendment 3 is not limited to abortion; it includes a range of significant life issues, including whether gender transition surgeries for minors without parental consent should be included and protected in Missouri's constitution. The fight continues against the vile forces who have no regard for innocent life."
But removing the measure would have stepped on Missouri voters' rights to sidestep the legislature and enact laws and constitutional amendments by the ballot, abortion-rights campaign lawyer Chuck Hatfield argued.
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the main group backing the amendment, held a news conference following the ruling.
ACLU of Missouri Attorney Tori Schaefer said, "So what this amendment does is it gives Missourians and their families the ability to make decisions about reproductive freedom and their reproductive rights, and it ends the state's total abortion ban."
Schaefer said this ruling is a victory for their cause but they know there will be more challenges if it passes.
"What this decision really says today is that we deserve to be on the ballot. The people deserve to make this decision for themselves," Schafer said.
The amendment was part of a national push to have voters weigh in on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri banned almost all abortions immediately after.
The proposed amendment has been challenged five times in Missouri and there is nothing else opponents can do at this point to keep it off the ballot as election deadlines have passed.
Voting on the polarizing issue may draw more people to the polls, potentially impacting results for the presidency in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes for closely contested state offices. Missouri Democrats, for instance, hope to get a boost from abortion-rights supporters during the November election.
Legal fights have sprung up across the country over whether to allow voters to decide these questions — and over the exact wording used on the ballots and explanatory material. In August, Arkansas' highest court upheld a decision to keep an abortion rights initiative off the state's November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the measure did not properly submit documentation regarding the signature gatherers it hired.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.