There is good news from Missouri on the pro-life front, thanks to a ruling overdue Friday by Christopher Limbaugh (yes, Rush and David’s cousin) in Cole County Circuit Court on proposed Amendment 3, which would amend the state constitution and establish a constitutional right to abortion up until fetal viability.
To understand the somewhat surprising verdict, first a little background:
One of the most frustrating aspects for a Republican voter in the clearly Republican state of Missouri is the fact that the state legislature repeatedly seems to paralyze itself, failing to get major agenda items across the finish line each session, despite the Republican “supermajority.”
Bad blood in #MOLeg: Senate President strips Freedom Caucus leaders of committee chairs and parking spaces
I have described the Missouri dilemma before:
For several years, conservatives have watched with frustration as a Republican-dominated legislature (and with a Republican governor) keeps finding a way not to pass effective legislation that embodies core conservative principles. School choice, transgender issues, election integrity, popular initiative reform – these are just a few of the areas where productive legislation has either not been passed or has been passed only in a watered-down form. Why?
The tiny answer is leadership. The long answer is a little more complicated. But no matter how you look at it, Missouri lawmakers failed once again to pass ballot initiative reform this year, and that’s why pro-abortion amendment supporters were able to get it on the ballot in November…maybe.
It’s the same ancient song, with the “establishment” players competing against the conservative faction, and in Missouri it’s too Trench warfare. On Tuesday, Senate President pro tempore Caleb Rowden took the extraordinary measure of stripping Freedom Caucus members of their committee chairs — and parking spots — in retaliation for their filibuster last Thursday against a bill that would raise the hurdles for the ballot initiative process to amend the Missouri Constitution. [Side Note: Presently, the threshold for passing constitutional amendments in the state is 50 percent, and the state’s Constitution has a whopping 119 amendments.]
This is a pressing issue for Missourians on many fronts, but especially when it comes to the issue of life – Missouri’s Prohibition against abortion (with the constrained exception for medical emergencies) was triggered and came into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law. Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs Decision in June 2022.
And that’s where Judge Limbaugh’s decision on Friday comes in: In a 10-page ruling that can be viewed in full below, Limbaugh ruled that Amendment 3 does not meet either the constitutional or statutory requirements that require disclosure of all constitutional and statutory actions repealed by the proposed amendment.
NEW – Judge Limbaugh has ruled that abortion will be removed from the ballot in Missouri unless his ruling is overturned by a higher court by Tuesday, Sept. 10, the last day the November ballot can be changed under Missouri law. Limbaugh noted that the (380,000) voters who signed a ruling… pic.twitter.com/qcWzsOGBCL
— Jennifer Bukowsky (@esqonfire) 7 September 2024
The verdict is not the last word on this topic, however.
Cole County District Court Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that the coalition behind the citizen-initiated ballot proposal did not meet the sufficient majority requirement because it “failed to include laws or provisions that are subject to repeal, particularly when many of those laws are obvious.”
A spokesman for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign behind the reproductive rights amendment, said they plan to appeal.
Limbaugh also wrote that while he found a “blatant violation” of state law, he was “aware of the gravity of the unique facts of this case and the lack of direct precedent on this point.”
For this reason, he will not issue an injunction preventing the addition from being printed on the ballot until Tuesday, to allow time for “further guidance or rulings” from the appeals court.
The constitutional deadline for printing ballot papers is Tuesday.
As mentioned, the group pushing for the change plans to appeal. In fact, they filed an appeal on Saturday. The case will now go to the Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri and will likely end up before the Missouri Supreme Court when all is said and done.
To summarize, Missouri currently has one of the strictest abortion bans, which came into effect when the Dobbs The decision was made by the U.S. Supreme Court. Abortion advocates managed to get the issue on the November ballot via a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish a constitutional right to abortion in Missouri to the point where it is viable (and likely boost Democratic turnout). Currently, the threshold for passing constitutional amendments in Missouri is only 50 percent because the Republican “supermajority” has not yet passed popular initiative reform. Judge Limbaugh’s ruling, if confirmedmeans that the measure will not be on the ballot in November. We will, of course, follow the case closely and report on any further developments.
MO – Decision on Amendment 3 – 9-6-24 from Susan Moore on Scribd
