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Up To Date

Missouri abortion rights advocates race to get amendment on 2024 ballot

By Steve Kraske,
Claudia Brancart
Published January 24, 2024 at 4:00 AM CST
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Charas Norell, 28, of south St. Louis, demonstrates in support of abortion rights on Monday, July 4, 2022, in downtown St. Louis. “My body belongs to me, it doesn’t belong to anyone else,” she said. “I’m not going to stand for someone else taking my rights away.”
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, a political action committee, is gathering signatures for an initiative petition that would legalize abortion up to the point of “fetal viability.”

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, a coalition of statewide abortion rights groups, has until May 5 to gather more than 171,000 signatures to get a constitutional amendment on November’s ballot. The ballot initiative would legalize abortions up to the point of "fetal viability."

A coalition of Missouri abortion-rights groups launched a campaign last week to get a constitutional amendment to partially legalize abortion on the 2024 statewide ballot.

Missouri has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom — which has the support of Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri and Planned Parenthood affiliates in Kansas City and St. Louis — is gathering signatures for an initiative petition that would make the procedure legal up to “fetal viability.” That is typically between 20-25 weeks gestation.

“Missourians continue to show up and support this initiative because it's something our state really wants and frankly, we really need,” Tori Schafer, an attorney for the ACLU of Missouri, told KCUR’s Up To Date.

The campaign raised more than $1.1 million in donations on the first day after it launched. However, it still needs to raise millions more and gather over 171,000 signatures to qualify for the state’s November ballot.

Tags
Up To Date PodcastHealthReproductive rightsabortionBallot IssueMissouriMissouri elections 2024Roe v. WadeACLUPlanned ParenthoodMissouri Secretary of StateJay Ashcroft
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Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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Claudia Brancart
As a producer for Up To Date, I create sound-rich talk show segments about the individuals and communities that call Kansas City home. Whether it’s a poet, a business owner or a local lawmaker, I seek out diverse voices to help break down the biggest stories of the day. After listening to the show, I want Up To Date listeners to feel informed and empowered to make decisions in their daily lives. You can reach me at claudiab@kcur.org
See stories by Claudia Brancart
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