With the midterm elections a little over a week away, life and death are on the ballot in four states—Missouri, Virginia, Nevada, and Idaho.
Missouri
In Missouri, a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution would prohibit abortion and sex-rejecting procedures for minors suffering with gender dysphoria. If passed, the ballot initiative would reverse a 2024 constitutional amendment that codified “the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including abortion,” Ballotpedia reports.
Amendment 3 includes a section that would “prohibit abortion, except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape or incest. … For cases of rape or incest, the abortion could only be performed before 12 weeks. It would prohibit abortions based on a fetal disability diagnosis, except in cases of fetal anomaly. It would require parental or guardian consent for minors seeking an abortion and prohibit fetal organ harvesting. The amendment would also provide for the ability of a woman to access healthcare in case of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.”
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) lauded the proposed amendment earlier this month on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.”
“Two years ago, the pro-abortion forces passed the most extreme measure,” she said. “It made abortion legal right up until the moment of birth. It had absolutely no safeguards for the health of the mother and certainly not for the safety of the baby.”
According to polling reported by The New York Times, 44% of likely Missouri voters said they oppose the adoption of abortion safeguards while 43% support it.
Virginia
In Virginia, a “Yes” vote to Question 1 would support a constitutional right to abortion, including until birth through an undefined “health” loophole.
Olivia Gans Turner, director of the Virginia Society for Human Life, warns that passage of the loosely worded amendment opens the door for judges to dictate its implementation.
“We want to preserve laws that respect a parent’s right to guard and guide their minor daughters through any critical pregnancy decision,” she writes. “We need to make sure that women are receiving pregnancy treatment from licensed Virginia doctors and medical professionals. Finally, we do not need to see Virginia laws being made by judges and not our own elected officials. The use of this amendment as a jumping off point for endless litigation to remove standing laws puts the well-being of women, girls, and their children in a dangerous place. Ballot Question 1 is simply another example of politics being put ahead of women’s safety. The deceptive wording of the ballot question only confirms it.”
Nevada
Voters in Nevada will consider Question 6, an amendment that would establish a right to abortion in the Nevada Constitution until fetal viability, or “when to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.” The amendment would establish that this right cannot be denied, burdened or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest, which would be defined as “an interest which is limited exclusively to the state’s interest in protecting, maintaining, or improving the health of an individual who is seeking abortion care that is consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice.”
Melissa Clement, executive director of Nevada Right to Life, writes in the Las Vegas Review-Journal :
“Question 6 is a proposed amendment to the Nevada Constitution that would establish an unlimited right to abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. It would enshrine unregulated abortion in our state constitution, making Nevada one of the most dangerous pro-abortion states in the nation. The amendment language is misleading, and its proposed outcomes are dangerous. And if we get it wrong, it’s almost impossible to fix.”
Clement warns that the proposed amendment eliminates licensed physician requirements. “The ballot question gives abortionists the sole discretion to decide viability,” she writes. “Women seeking an abortion don’t see their OBGYN or family doctor. They go to abortion practitioners. This ballot initiative gives power to abortion practitioners, who may not even be licensed doctors, to decide whether a baby is ‘viable.’”
Idaho
Dozens of Idaho physicians have signed an open letter urging voters to reject Proposition 1, warning that the measure would legalize late-term abortions, eliminate parental consent for minors and allow non-physicians to conduct abortions.
The physicians wrote that the proposed law would redefine “fetal viability” so that a newborn needing extra neonatal care, such as oxygen and NICU support, would no longer be considered viable.
“Proposition 1 is extreme, deceptive and medically unsafe” the physicians concluded. “It does not protect women; it endangers them and strips parents of their rights while expanding late-term abortion.”
The letter was signed by obstetricians and gynecologists, neonatologists, pediatricians, pediatric hospitalists, family practitioners and other physicians from across the state.
To learn more about the upcoming state ballot measures where you live click here.
