These days you can’t turn on the television, listen to the radio, or open your mailbox without hearing about Amendment 3, which purports to restore the “right to reproductive freedom” to Missourians. Out-of-state interests have spent tens of millions of dollars to convince Missourians that the abortion policy in liberal states like California and New York is the right fit for Missouri.
I don’t believe it is. I don’t believe most Missourians want to enshrine late-term, or partial-birth, abortion in our state constitution. I admit that I write this as someone who is ardently pro-life, and who has fought diligently to protect the sanctity of innocent life as a state legislator, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, and as a statewide officeholder. But I also believe the reason I have won elective office each time I have run is because the values I hold dear are Missouri values, not those of out-of-state interests.
At the same time, I understand many Missourians take issue with our state’s current abortion law, which provides the strongest pro-life protections in the country. While our current law does allow abortions to protect the life of the mother, many voters want to see additional changes to it.
But the reality is Amendment 3 is not merely modifying our existing law to accommodate those concerns. Instead, it would enshrine in our constitution the values of the most radical pro-abortion forces. The proponents of Amendment 3 want you to believe it’s your only option, but their proposal is so extreme, they know it would never pass if they were honest about what it would allow. That is why their advertisements resort to presenting a false choice between our current abortion laws and their proposal that would allow an abortion to occur at any point during a pregnancy for any reason.
Some claim Amendment 3 would also prevent legislative restrictions on sex change operations for minors. The fact is the language of the amendment will be subject to interpretation by the courts if there is a dispute about what it means. The amendment says, “The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decisions about reproductive health care, including, but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.” The amendment goes on to say, “Any denial, interference, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom shall be presumed invalid.” If the definition of “reproductive freedom” is “not limited” to that extensive list of topics, and “any restriction” to it must be “presumed invalid” by the courts, asking what other topics the proponents have in mind is a fair thing to do. While no one can say how this topic will play out in court, including me, what I can say is voters should always prefer precise language to imprecise language, particularly when inserting laws into our constitution which govern the most serious topic of all – life and death.
Join me in voting no on Amendment 3 and telling out-of-state interests Missourians want Missouri solutions, not a one-size fits all liberal panacea.
Missouri State Auditor
