Missouri Votes To Codify Abortion Rights In State Constitution | EUROtoday

Missourians will move a historic modification on Tuesday night time that can codify the precise to abortion entry till fetal viability within the state structure, in accordance with projections.

Amendment 3 will repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban and restore entry till round 24 weeks of being pregnant ― a monumental win for abortion rights advocates within the deep-red state. The passage of Amendment 3 marks the primary time that voters have overturned a complete abortion ban within the present post-Roe v. Wade panorama.

The measure will shield the precise to make selections about different reproductive well being points as effectively, together with contraception, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, miscarriage care and “respectful birthing conditions.” It can even shield Missourians from being prosecuted for his or her being pregnant outcomes, resembling miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion.

“This is an especially historic win for Missouri, one of a growing number of red, blue and purple states ― and the first with a total abortion ban ― to approve a constitutional amendment protecting abortion,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, mentioned in a Tuesday night time assertion.

“In fact, the amendment goes even further, calling for ‘a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, defined to include abortion and all matters relating to reproductive health care,’” she continued. “By saying yes to this powerful language, voters have demanded the return of the essential human rights and freedoms they lost after Roe was overturned.”

The initiative is counter-intuitive for a Republican stronghold with a protracted anti-abortion historical past. The state had solely three abortion clinics in 2017 after years of focused restrictions on abortion suppliers. The final clinic within the state closed shortly after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a nationwide proper to abortion, was overturned in June 2022.

Although the modification is a historic win for abortion rights advocates in Missouri, the shortage of brick-and-mortar clinics means abortion entry within the state nonetheless has a protracted technique to go. Many of the prior abortion rules, together with the 72-hour ready interval and the ban on telemedicine, will have to be litigated in court docket.

The modification shall be in impact as quickly because the vote is finalized, though anti-abortion teams will possible problem the ends in the approaching months.