COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri voters will soon learn if abortions will be legalized in the state. Amendment 3 would overturn Missouri's near-total abortion ban, if passed on Nov.
5. The amendment was put on the ballot just hours before the deadline certification, and has become a controversial issue in the state, including among politicians. In a statement sent to ABC 17 News after the amendment was placed back on the ballot in September, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kehoe said he urged Missouri's to do their research before taking to the polls.
Democratic candidate Crystal Quade commended the decision, calling Missouri's ban on abortion "cruel." According to Director of Litigation for the Freedom Center of Missouri Dave Roland, voting "yes" on Amendment 3 protects what the amendment has defined as "reproductive rights." The ballot states those include, but are not limited to, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, miscarriage care, respectful birthing conditions and abortion care.
The amendment allows for the legislature to regulate abortions after fetal viability, but Roland says it doesn't define what that is. Rather, it leaves that for a medical professional to determine. "It also guarantees protections as long as a medical professional deems an abortion necessary to preserve the physical or mental health of the pregnant mother and so that, I think puts the vast majority of abortion related decisions beyond the reach of the legislature," Rol.