JEFFERSON CITY — A coalition of abortion rights supporters launched a campaign Thursday to reverse Missouri’s near-total abortion ban, an effort that could place the issue front-and-center for voters this election year.
A group including the ACLU of Missouri, Abortion Action Missouri and both of the state’s Planned Parenthood chapters announced they had gotten behind an initiative petition that would create a right to an abortion in the Missouri Constitution.
The effort promises to generate national attention as a state-by-state fight plays out in the aftermath of the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
After its announcement Thursday, the campaign, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, reported 20 large contributions totaling more than $1.1 million to the Missouri Ethics Commission. The donations flowed to the campaign in the two days leading up to the announcement.
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The largest — $500,000 — came from the Fairness Project, a dark-money nonprofit group that has contributed to progressive Missouri ballot initiatives in the past.
Individuals and groups listing Missouri addresses gave a combined $512,025 to the effort. Sixteen of the 20 donors listed Missouri addresses.
All but one Missouri donation came from either St. Louis or St. Louis County.
The largest donors listing St. Louis addresses included the ACLU of Missouri ($100,000); Abortion Action Missouri ($100,000); and Laura Cohen of St. Louis ($100,000).
Planned Parenthood Great Plains, listing an Overland Park, Kansas, address, gave $75,000.
The campaign faces a pressing May 5 deadline to submit the roughly 180,000 signatures needed to make the ballot.
“We are so excited to have come together in this fight on this initiative to end Missouri’s abortion ban. And I believe that we can win,†said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri.
Currently, abortions in Missouri are only allowed in medical emergencies — the result of a state law that took effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
The measure supporters are collecting signatures for would allow the state to restrict or ban abortion after fetal viability, unless the life or health of the mother is at risk.
The proposed reversal is similar to a constitutional amendment Ohio voters approved in November protecting abortion rights in that state.
It had been an open question as to whether a Missouri campaign would get off the ground.
Courtroom fighting between Republicans delayed signature collection last year. State courts finalized wording for six potential ballot measures in November. But activists still had not settled on which version to pursue.
Five of the six measures state courts finalized would allow the state to restrict abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy or fetal viability; one plan would not have any such limit.
Activists ultimately settled on allowing the state to restrict abortions after fetal viability. Under the measure, a treating health care professional would determine whether there is a “significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival†outside the uterus without extraordinary measures.
“Today, Missourians are taking a critical step to make their own medical decisions and kick politicians out of the exam room,†Dr. Iman Alsaden, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement. “As a Missourian, I’m proud to join with other providers, advocates, and patients to end the harm caused by Missouri’s abortion ban.â€
Not everyone was satisfied with the fetal viability limit. Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice, referenced , which allowed states to prohibit abortion after viability unless it was needed to protect the life or health of the mother.
“Codifying the most problematic components of Roe is a tactic that completely rejects the reproductive justice framework, placing greater importance on the rights of some while sacrificing abortion access for people most impacted by abortion bans,†Merritt said in a statement.
“There is no test that definitively determines viability,†she said. “Viability should never be used to restrict access to care, and it absolutely should not be enshrined in state constitutions as a requirement to access abortion.â€
Groups such as Planned Parenthood and Abortion Action Missouri had refused to get behind a more moderate alternative by the Missouri Women and Family Research Fund, which would allow abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Thursday’s launch followed the recent formation of Missouri Stands with Women, a campaign by abortion opponents to counter the abortion rights initiative.
That group says it will help lead the fight against initiative petitions aimed at “reversing Missouri’s pro-life laws and enshrining extreme abortion initiatives to the state’s constitution.â€
Missouri Stands with Women reported two large contributions Thursday: $10,000 from the Senate Republicans campaign fund, and $10,000 from the House Republican Campaign Committee.
Republicans in the Missouri Legislature, meanwhile, have sought to make it more difficult to amend the constitution.
House Speaker Dean Plocher said this month that he wants initiative petition changes on the Aug. 6 primary ballot.
If approved, that could complicate any path to passage for an abortion constitutional amendment in November.
JoDonn Chaney, spokesman for Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, said in 2022 that if voters raise the threshold in August 2024, the new requirement would be in effect for the November 2024 elections.
Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City attorney, said at the time an August 2024 vote to increase the threshold “likely would†affect questions on the November 2024 ballot, though he said “the law is not completely clear†and that there would likely be litigation on the question.
“This initiative petition campaign to legalize abortion in the state of Missouri makes initiative petition reform even more important,†Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, said Thursday on the Senate floor.