A month after Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, Republican lawmakers in the red state are already working to repeal — or at least undermine — it.
One measure will ask voters to amend the state constitution to define that life begins at conception, declaring that embryos are human beings with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
As a result, abortion will be classified as illegal murder.
Another proposal aimed at repealing the abortion rights amendment would ask voters ban gender reassignment procedures for minorstying the two issues together despite the fact that the amendment did not address gender surgery and gender-affirming care for transgender children already illegal in Missouri.
Other proposed amendments include tighter restrictions on abortion, such as restricting access to cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. These measures will impose additional requirements such as requires rape survivors to report to the police to have an abortion.
GOP lawmakers also introduced a measure to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution through voter initiatives, which could make similar measures more difficult to pass in the future.
The legislative moves follow a Nov. 5 election that passed an amendment to include abortion rights in the state constitution won by a margin of 51.6%-48.4%.. Starting Thursday, the right to abortion will be constitutionally guaranteed until the fetus is viable, while restrictions on post-viability abortions will remain in place.
In other states where voters approved measures last month to protect abortion rights, there has been no sign yet that lawmakers will try to oppose the measures as well.
Even before the votes in Missouri were counted, supporters of Amendment 3, as the measure was called, expected the victory to be met with efforts to somehow undermine abortion rights.
“These people will continue to oppose abortion,” said state Rep. Deb Lavender, a Democrat from suburban St. Louis.
Although Missouri already has The law that life begins at conceptionstating that unborn children have “protected interests in life, health, and welfare,” the proposed constitutional amendment would go further. It would effectively elevate the principle to the state constitution and potentially complicate not only abortion rights, but also the legality of in vitro fertilization and embryo manipulation.
Several states have laws recognizing fetal identity, but Missouri would be the second, after Alabama, to enshrine it in its constitution. This could create legal and ideological confusion or even conflict, experts say.
“You could see voters saying, ‘I support abortion rights,’ but also saying, ‘Life begins at conception,’ not realizing that you can’t have both of those things at the same time,” said Jameel Fields Allsbrook, a professor Saint Louis University School of Law and Ex policy analyst for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The author of one of the individuality measures, Rep. Justin Sparks, a Republican from suburban St. Louis, said he was encouraged by the slight margin of support for abortion rights.
“A clear mandate has not been achieved,” he said. While there was an amendment strong support in metro St. Louis and Kansas City and in the district home to the University of Missouri, “the vast majority of the rest of the state voted the other way,” he added. “So I think it’s fair to raise the issue again.”
But state Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat also from suburban St. Louis, pointed out that Sparks was going against the will of voters in the St. Louis area. “I consider it even more disrespectful to the voters,” she said. “Amendment 3 wasn’t just voted for by voters who tend to vote for Democrats. It was also Republican voters and independent voters, and I think that’s getting lost in this discussion.”
The measure linking abortion and transgender rights reflects an anti-abortion election campaign connected these topics. Critics say the strategy seeks to divert attention from abortion rights, which enjoy strong voter support, by exploiting voter discomfort with transgender issues.
While GOP lawmakers are pushing for these measures, the legal landscape surrounding abortion in Missouri is already changing. Jackson County Circuit Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri that seeks to overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban and other abortion laws. The lawsuit followed the passage of Amendment 3. Planned Parenthood said it plans to reopen abortion services in St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia on Friday if it wins the lawsuit.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey acknowledged that the amendment would legalize most abortions when it goes into effect, but he said he intends to enforce other restrictions, such as a ban on abortions after the fetus is viable, a 72-hour waiting period and parental consent for minors.
Lawmakers are also pushing to raise the bar for constitutional amendments. A simple majority is enough now; it allowed Missouri voters to bypass the legislature and pass progressive amendments lawmakers oppose. A a new bill would ask voters to pass a constitutional amendment that would require not only a statewide majority but also a majority of voters in five of the state’s eight electoral districts — a change that critics argued would give rural areas disproportionate power over urban voters. Voters will then have a harder time approving measures that do not align with the priorities of the conservative politicians they typically elect.
Earlier this year, similar attempts were made to complicate amendments to the constitution failed after Senate Democrats defeated it.
Sparks criticized Republican leadership in the General Assembly for allowing it to fail, pointing to Republican supermajorities in both chambers that could pass the measure.
“We have all the power,” Sparks said. “We have all the procedural levers of power, and we can stop debate in both chambers any time, any day, on any bill we want.”
Florida shows how a higher threshold for voter initiatives can work. In 2006, the state raised the bar for constitutional amendments to 60%. This year, a majority of voters — 57% — supported the abortion rights amendment, an even larger margin than in Missouri, but just short of Florida.
However, it remains unclear whether either measure will gain enough support in the Missouri General Assembly.
Lavender said the abortion rights campaign far outnumbered the opposition during the election. “It’s going to be hard to overturn,” she said. “You’re going to have the same money that backed it now, going against you.”
