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By Gabriella Borter
(Reuters) -Missouri's top court on Tuesday ruled that a proposed abortion rights amendment to the state constitution will appear on the ballot in November, allowing voters to decide whether to restore legal abortion in Missouri for the first time in over two years.
The measure, which proposes a right to abortion in Missouri until fetal viability, will likely appear on the November ballot for voters after organizers submitted more than 250,000 petition signatures and the secretary of state's office verified them last month.
"Today’s Missouri Supreme Court decision is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri," Missourians for Constitutional Freedom wrote on X, the group sponsoring the measure.
The decision came after a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion lawmakers and advocates, where a circuit court judge on Friday ruled that the measure should not have qualified for the ballot because it did not sufficiently explain the ramifications that its passage would have.
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom appealed the ruling over the weekend, and the state Supreme Court's Tuesday decision reversed the lower court's order.
"It is deeply unfortunate the court decided to ignore laws that protect voters in order to satisfy pro-abortion activists who intentionally omitted critical information from the initiative petition," Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney for the group challenging the measure's validity, said in a statement.
The decision came just hours before the deadline for Missouri's ballot printing. On Tuesday morning, the court heard arguments from the representatives for the respondents - including Republican state senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman - and for the appellants.
Missouri's secretary of state John Ashcroft "shall certify to local election authorities that Amendment 3 be placed on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and shall take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot," Chief Justice Mary Russell wrote in the ruling notice.
Missouri is currently enforcing a total abortion ban with exceptions for medical emergencies. The ballot measure's proposal to enshrine the right to abortion until fetal viability - typically around 24 weeks in pregnancy - drew support from 52% of Missouri voters in a St. Louis University/YouGov poll conducted from Aug. 9-16. The measure would need more than 50% support to pass.
The issue of abortion is now set to appear on ballots in nine states this November, including Missouri and a few battleground states likely to play critical roles in the presidential race and the fight for control of Congress.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)
