Missouri Judge Rules That Abortion Ballot Measure Is Invalid

But abortion rights groups hope an appeals court will reverse the ruling before the Tuesday deadline to print the state ballots.

A Missouri court late Friday moved toward striking a ballot measure in November that would ask voters whether to establish a right to abortion in the state Constitution.

Judge Christopher Limbaugh of Cole County Circuit Court sided with anti-abortion lawmakers and activists who said that the abortion rights groups that gathered signatures to sponsor the ballot measure had not sufficiently explained its potential ramifications on the petitions they asked voters to sign.

With the state scheduled to print ballots on Tuesday, the judge said he would wait until then to issue an injunction instructing the secretary of state to remove the measure that was certified last month. That will give the abortion rights groups a chance to appeal to a higher court.

The coalition behind the measure vowed to do so immediately, calling the ruling “a profound injustice to the initiative process.” They have expressed optimism that the appeals court will be more sympathetic to their arguments.

That court could decline to act, in which case the measure would be struck from the ballot. But if the appeals court or the state Supreme Court overturns Judge Limbaugh’s ruling before Tuesday, he will not issue an injunction, and the measure, known as Amendment 3, will remain on the ballot.

“Our fight to ensure that voters — not politicians — have the final say is far from over,” Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said in a statement.