This week, two more states approved abortion amendments that will appear on the November ballot. Voters in Arizona and Missouri will determine whether to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right on par with free speech and freedom of religion. Both amendments would severely limit the states’ ability to regulate abortion through the age of viability, which is approximately 24 weeks.
Arizona law currently allows abortion through 15 weeks, 6 days of pregnancy. Missouri restricts all abortions except in cases of medical emergency.
If these amendments pass, abortion will be a fundamental right, meaning any laws restricting abortion will be subject to the highest level of judicial review and will have to serve a “compelling state interest.” Under Roe, courts held that safeguarding children in the womb was sufficiently compelling to allow certain restrictions on abortion. But both the Arizona and Missouri amendments redefine “compelling” to exclude the state’s interest in protecting unborn babies.
This, combined with the amendments’ prohibition on laws that infringe on an individual’s “autonomous decision making,” is a dangerous shift reinforcing the illusion that abortion only affects one life. The amendments obliterate the humanity of unborn babies under the premise that equality and autonomy require the power to destroy those who are more vulnerable and more dependent than we are. As I’ve said elsewhere, this is not just wrong – it is exactly wrong. It is a lie from the pit of hell.
In an effort to win over the growing number of independent voters, supporters of abortion amendments assert that a “yes” vote will restore Roe and protect abortion access “free from political interference.” This claim is both false and absurd.
First, these amendments go far beyond Roe by establishing a “right” to abortion that has never existed in the history of our nation. No state has ever created an explicit right to abort one’s child.
Second, in no other context would we suggest that protecting children from dismemberment and death is an overreach of government power. Yet, as we’ve seen in Ohio and other states, voters are persuaded by ads claiming that restricting abortion – the killing of innocent unborn children – interferes with personal freedom.
Life Legal is working with pro-lifers in Arizona and Missouri to defeat these unprecedented assaults on human life. We will have a presence in Missouri to ensure that the life-saving laws currently in place are not annihilated by constitutional amendments that cannot be overturned. And we are working on educational outreach to remind people that allowing unrestricted abortion is an affront to the sanctity of all human life. It sends the message that some people are not worthy of life and that human beings are disposable.