Missouri Activists Begin Collecting Signatures for Abortion Amendment

The Missouri Women and Family Research Fund has begun collecting signatures for a referendum to add exceptions to Missouri's near-total abortion ban, aiming to place the question before voters on the 2024 ballot. The effort seeks to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, and the health and safety of the mother, legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The signature collection process has started despite ongoing litigation over the proposed ballot language. Missouri law requires petitioners to collect over 170,000 signatures by May 2024 to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.