Missouri’s Life Battle Isn’t Over: Voters Tricked Into ‘Unrestricted, Taxpayer-Funded Abortion’?
Voters in seven out of ten abortion-related initiatives on November ballots across the U.S. decided to lift restrictions and enshrine abortion rights, including Missouri’s Amendment 3.
Missouri was the first state to ban abortion in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade via its trigger law. Now, the passage of Amendment 3 has reversed that ban, prompting passionate reactions from both sides of the issue.
Brian Westbrook of Coalition Life criticized the measure saying, “Amendment 3 is more extreme than California, Illinois, or New York. It would be the most extreme abortion law on the books in the entire nation.”
In less than 24 hours after the votes were counted, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking to declare multiple pro-life laws unconstitutional.
Jeremy Jacobs of Bound4Life raised concerns about the implications. “They are going after health department oversight of the abortion industry. They’re wanting to remove restrictions on race- and sex-selective abortions in Missouri. They want the ability to kill children simply because they are Black or female,” he said.
Amendment 3’s passage has broader implications, as women from neighboring states like Arkansas and Oklahoma—where abortion is banned—are expected to seek the procedure in Missouri.
Tim Barton of WallBuilders highlighted the regional impact. “When things like this happen in one state, they don’t just impact that state. Especially given Missouri’s central locality, it’s now something where many more people will come to that state,” he said.
Pro-life groups are turning to Missouri’s Republican-controlled state legislature, where Amendment 3 is expected to dominate the agenda in January. State Representative Justin Sparks is poised to lead efforts to counter the new law.
“I’m doing this because I’m convicted that I must do this,” Sparks said. “I prayed about this and considered it prayerfully, and I believe I am called to do this.”
Sparks plans to challenge presumed House Speaker Jon Patterson, who previously stated that lawmakers should respect the voters’ decision. Sparks, however, believes voters were misled.
“The voting public only sees 50 words on the ballot,” Sparks explained. “After people voted, interviews showed overwhelmingly that most people thought Amendment 3 was about contraception, in vitro fertilization, or ectopic pregnancies. Most had no idea that we were talking about unrestricted, taxpayer-funded abortion.”
If elected Speaker, Sparks plans to propose legislation to put new restrictions on abortion back on the ballot within two years. “We would identify specific legislation to tackle Amendment 3, completely deconstruct it from our constitution, and replace it with a guiding framework that would outlaw abortion in Missouri again,” he said.
Planned Parenthood facilities, including those previously slated to close, may see renewed investment due to Amendment 3. Sparks warned of the consequences, “Any injury or death that occurs from an abortion provider is now free of liability. Places like Planned Parenthood see huge dollar signs because they will no longer be under the threat of malpractice lawsuits.”
Amendment 3’s vague language is also expected to spark legal challenges. Sparks commented, “All of the current statutes we have in place are apparently in conflict with this new constitutional amendment. Amendment 3 is so broad and vague, nobody knows what statutes are actually affected.”
Jeremy Jacobs emphasized that cultural change is key to addressing the abortion debate. “What we saw was more churches than I expected raising their voice against Amendment 3, but we also saw a lot of churches that kept silent,” he said.
Correspondingly, a startling 42% of churchgoing Christians support abortion, according to Barna research. To some, that could potentially mean abortion on demand.
Barton calls those figures “an indictment on the church.”
Sparks concluded with a message of moral urgency: “I believe what we do on Earth has echoes in eternity. If we don’t stand for those who cannot stand for themselves—if we don’t speak for those who cannot speak for themselves—God will not hold us blameless.”
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