Referendum measures on the right to abortion In Nebraska and Missouri, universities are facing legal challenges as certification deadlines approach.
Missouri Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled Friday against a referendum measure on the right to abortion in the state, in accordance with a lawsuit that claimed the “petition violated state law by failing to provide voters with a list of Missouri laws that would be repealed, directly or by implication,” if passed.
The proposed measure sought to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, prohibiting government interference with the procedure.
Missouri organizers behind the ballot measure hope to appeal Limbaugh’s ruling to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to end an injunction — but Tuesday is also the deadline for ballot changes. If the court decides not to intervene, an injunction would then be put in place, officially nullifying the ballot measure.
“The court’s decision to block Amendment 3 from appearing on the ballot is a profound injustice to the initiative petition process and violates the rights of the 380,000 Missourians who signed our petition demanding a voice on this critical issue,” Rachel Sweet, campaign director for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said in a statement.
Abortion is illegal in Missouri, with certain exceptions related to the life and health of the mother.
In Nebraska, where abortion is banned after 12 weeks, two competing pro-abortion petitions were set to go before voters in November. But it’s not yet clear whether voters will be given a choice between either option.
One measure would establish a fundamental right to abortion until the fetus is viable, but it is the subject of legal challenges over whether it meets the single-subject requirement.
A competing ballot measure would ban abortions in the second and third trimesters, “except when a woman seeks an abortion necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest.”
On Monday, the Nebraska Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the lawsuits.
“We believe that the Rights Amendment clearly meets the single subject test. We believe that the Restrictions Amendment probably also meets the single subject test according to the jurisprudence of this Court. However, if the Court were to apply a more targeted and stricter approach to the single subject test, as advocated by the rapporteurs in the previous case, we believe that the Restrictions Amendment would clearly fail that test well, well before the Rights Amendment,” argued lawyer David Gacioch.
The deadline to certify ballots in Nebraska is September 13.
Abortion has become a major political issue since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, end federal protections for the procedure and make it a matter of state.
Statewide ballot measures in favor of the procedure have since seen success, and similar measures will appear next November. before Arizona votersNevada, FloridaSouth Dakota, Colorado, New York, Maryland and Montana.
Democrats have rallied around abortion rights, and the fight for reproductive freedom has become a central pillar of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
During her election campaign, Harris repeatedly said that former President Donald Trump would sign a national abortion ban into law. Trump insists he favors leaving the issue to the states, and while he has called Florida’s six-week ban “too short,” he has nonetheless announced his intention to vote against a referendum measure that would ban any restrictions on the procedure until a fetus is viable.
