At issue is a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. If enacted, the measure is widely expected to undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban.
The proposal had been slated for the November ballot. But Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself, following a county circuit judge's ruling Friday that sided with abortion opponents and several Republican lawmakers who sought to have the amendment taken off the ballot.
Monday’s move by Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, is largely symbolic. The Supreme Court is expected to have the final say on the measure and faces a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline to make changes to the November ballot. That gives the court mere hours to issue a ruling after the morning hearing.
The amendment is 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.
At least nine other states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman, which is what the Missouri proposal would do.
