Polling suggests a proposed abortion amendment in Missouri could pass by a narrow margin in November.
A survey released by Saint Louis University and YouGov on Thursday found that 52 percent of likely Missouri voters support the proposed constitutional amendment — within the survey’s ±3.79 percent margin of error — while 34 percent do not support it and 14 percent say they are unsure. The survey was conducted with 900 likely Missouri voters from August 8-16.
Abortion is currently outlawed in Missouri, except for in medical emergencies or to save a woman’s life. The abortion amendment would undo the state’s abortion restriction and needs 50.1 percent support to pass.
“The results indicate that the measure, called Amendment 3, has gained more support over the summer,” The Kansas City Star reported. “Previous polling released in March showed 44 percent of Missourians backing the amendment, which raised questions about whether it would receive more than 50 percent of the vote required to pass.”
The abortion measure would enshrine the right to abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution. The group behind the measure is Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which is comprised of left-wing groups, including Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri, and the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates.
The proposed amendment would allow abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment also permits abortions after that point if “in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional [an abortion] is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
The measure also states:
The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decision about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.
…
The right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the Government demonstrates that such action is justified by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means. Any detail, interference, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom shall be presumed invalid.
The measure further states that no person “shall be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”
“Nor shall any person assisting a person in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with that person’s consent be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action for doing so,” the measure reads.
Leading pro-life organization SBA Pro-Life America has said the measure would “end thousands of lives.”
“The abortion lobby’s ballot measure would end thousands of lives. Unborn children who have heartbeats, feel pain, suck their thumbs, smile and even survive outside of the womb will no longer be protected in Missouri if this extreme measure passes,” said Midwestern Regional Director for SBA Pro-Life America Sue Liebel. “Missouri would become as radical as California in allowing horrific late-term abortions and forcing the taxpayer to fund them.”
Missouri is one of nearly a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are working to codify the right to kill the unborn. So far, voters in Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Nebraska and South Dakota will have the opportunity to vote on abortion measures this year. Similar measures are underway in several other states.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.