{"id":133749,"date":"2024-12-05T23:26:22","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T16:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=133749"},"modified":"2024-12-05T23:26:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T16:26:22","slug":"gop-lawmakers-are-already-trying-to-overturn-missouris-right-to-abortion-propublica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=133749","title":{"rendered":"GOP Lawmakers Are Already Trying to Overturn Missouri\u2019s Right to Abortion \u2014 ProPublica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-pp-location=\"article body\">\n<div class=\"article-body__top-notes\" data-pp-location=\"top-note\">\n<div class=\"article-body__note article-body__note--newsletter\" id=\"newsletter-txt-note\">\n<p>ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/newsletters\/dispatches?source=www.propublica.org&amp;placement=top-note&amp;region=local\">Sign up for Dispatches<\/a>, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- end .article-body__top-notes --><\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"1.0\">One month after Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion, Republican lawmakers in the deeply red state are already working to overturn it \u2014 or at least undermine it.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"2.0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/documents.house.mo.gov\/billtracking\/bills251\/hlrbillspdf\/1361H.01I.pdf\">One measure<\/a> would ask voters to amend the state constitution to define life as beginning at conception, declaring that embryos are people with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"3.0\">The result would be to classify abortion as an unlawful killing.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"4.0\">Another proposal, aimed at repealing the abortion rights amendment, would ask voters to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.mo.gov\/25info\/BTS_Web\/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=445\">ban gender transition procedures for minors<\/a>, tying the two issues together, despite the fact that the amendment did not address gender surgery and gender-affirming care for transgender children is <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/transgender-law-missouri-courts-8a9cf71ac71853f16898cdd44bbe4704\">already illegal in Missouri<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"5.0\">Other proposed amendments include stricter abortion limits, such as restricting access to cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies and fetal anomalies. These measures would impose additional requirements, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.mo.gov\/25info\/BTS_Web\/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=412\">mandating that rape survivors file police reports<\/a> to obtain an abortion.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"bb-ad full | hide-print\">\n<\/aside>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"7.0\">GOP lawmakers have also introduced a measure to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution through voter initiatives, which could make it harder to pass similar measures in the future.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"8.0\">The legislative moves follow the Nov. 5 election, in which the amendment to put abortion rights in the state constitution <a href=\"https:\/\/thebeaconnews.org\/stories\/2024\/11\/05\/missouri-amendment-3-results-abortion-access-election-2024\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">won by a 51.6%-48.4% margin<\/a>. Starting Thursday, the right to abortion will be constitutionally guaranteed up to the point of fetal viability, while restrictions on post-viability abortions will remain in place.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"10.0\">In other states where voters approved abortion rights measures last month, there were no signs yet that lawmakers would also try to counter those measures. <\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"10.1\">Even before votes in Missouri had been counted, proponents of Amendment 3, as the measure was called, had anticipated that a victory would be met with efforts to somehow undercut abortion rights.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"10.2\">\u201cThese people will continue to rail against abortion,\u201d said state Rep. Deb Lavender, a Democrat from the St. Louis suburbs.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"12.0\">Although Missouri already has a <a href=\"https:\/\/revisor.mo.gov\/main\/OneSection.aspx?section=1.205&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com\">law recognizing life as beginning at conception<\/a>, stating that unborn children have \u201cprotectable interests in life, health, and well-being,\u201d the proposed constitutional amendment would go further. It would effectively elevate this principle to the state constitution and potentially complicate not only abortion rights but the legality of in vitro fertilization and the handling of embryos.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"13.0\">Several states have laws recognizing fetal personhood, but Missouri would be the second \u2014 after Alabama \u2014 to enshrine it in its constitution. That could create legal and ideological confusion or even conflicts, experts say.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"14.0\">\u201cYou could see voters saying, \u2018I support a right to abortion,\u2019 but also saying, \u2018Life begins at conception,\u2019 without understanding that you can\u2019t have both of those things at the same time,\u201d said Jamille Fields Allsbrook, a professor at St. Louis University School of Law and a former policy analyst for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"bb-ad full | hide-print\">\n<\/aside>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"16.0\">The author of one of the personhood measures, Rep. Justin Sparks, a Republican from the St. Louis suburbs, said he was emboldened by the narrow margin of the abortion rights vote.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"17.0\">\u201cA clear mandate has not been achieved,\u201d he said. While the amendment had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansascity.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article295217794.html\">strong support<\/a> in metro St. Louis and Kansas City and in the county that\u2019s home to the University of Missouri, \u201cthe vast majority of the rest of the state voted in a different direction,\u201d he added. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s fair to again bring the question up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"18.0\">But state Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat also from the St. Louis suburbs, noted that Sparks was going against the will of voters in the St. Louis area. \u201cI find that even more disrespectful of the voters,\u201d she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just voters that tend to vote Democratic that voted yes on Amendment 3. It was also Republican voters and independent voters, and I think that\u2019s getting lost in this discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"19.0\">The measure to link abortion and transgender rights reflects the campaign before the election, when abortion opponents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/missouri-abortion-rights-amendment-anti-transgender-campaign-messaging\">conflated these topics<\/a>. Critics said this strategy seeks to distract from abortion rights, which had strong voter support, by capitalizing on voter discomfort with transgender issues.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"20.0\">While GOP lawmakers push these measures, the legal landscape around abortion in Missouri is already shifting. On Wednesday, a Jackson County Circuit Court heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri that seeks to strike down Missouri\u2019s near-total abortion ban and other laws that regulate abortion. The lawsuit followed the passage of Amendment 3. Planned Parenthood said if it wins in court it plans to resume abortion services in St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia on Friday.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"21.0\">Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has acknowledged that the amendment will legalize most abortions when it goes into effect, but he has said he intends to enforce remaining restrictions, such as a ban on abortions after fetal viability, a 72-hour waiting period and parental consent for minors.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"22.0\">Lawmakers are also pushing to raise the bar for passing constitutional amendments. Now, a simple majority is enough; that has allowed Missouri voters to bypass the legislature and pass progressive amendments that lawmakers oppose. A <a href=\"https:\/\/documents.house.mo.gov\/billtracking\/bills251\/hlrbillspdf\/0748H.02I.pdf\">new bill<\/a> would ask voters to pass a constitutional amendment requiring not just a statewide majority but also a majority of voters in five of the state\u2019s eight congressional districts \u2014 a change critics argued would give disproportionate power to rural areas over urban voters. It would then be harder for voters to approve measures that don\u2019t align with the priorities of the conservative politicians they tend to elect.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"23.0\">Earlier this year, a similar effort to make it harder to amend the constitution <a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2024\/05\/14\/democrats-filibuster-bill-amend-missouri-constitution\/\">failed after Democrats in the Senate filibustered it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"24.0\">Sparks criticized the Republican leadership in the General Assembly for allowing the failure, pointing to a Republican supermajority in both houses that could have passed the measure.   <\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"24.1\">\u201cWe hold all the power,\u201d Sparks said. \u201cWe hold all the procedural levers of power, and we can shut down debate in both houses any time, any day, for any bill we choose to.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside data-pp-id=\"25\" data-pp-blocktype=\"promo\" data-pp-location=\"story promo\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"bb-promo-story story-promo-group size04 right out02 wide-sm wrap | hide-print\">\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/immigration-latino-trump-election-resentment-asylum\" class=\"story-promo section-articles\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"story-promo__art\">\n                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271%27%20height%3D%271%27%20style%3D%27background%3Atransparent%27%2F%3E\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/img.assets-d.propublica.org\/v5\/images\/20241002-Aldinio-Immigration-Whitewater-109_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?crop=focalpoint&amp;fit=crop&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;h=75&amp;q=70&amp;w=75&amp;s=2b02cc3748aff653cc8a5bc32faeb79d 75w, https:\/\/img.assets-d.propublica.org\/v5\/images\/20241002-Aldinio-Immigration-Whitewater-109_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?crop=focalpoint&amp;fit=crop&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;h=150&amp;q=70&amp;w=150&amp;s=71f41bf6b16068b09fe1bea3a1164fed 150w, https:\/\/img.assets-d.propublica.org\/v5\/images\/20241002-Aldinio-Immigration-Whitewater-109_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?crop=focalpoint&amp;fit=crop&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;h=400&amp;q=70&amp;w=400&amp;s=1ca6b3461643571a835c9ac72f3dfe19 400w\"\/>\n                    <\/div>\n<p>\n                <strong class=\"story-promo__hed\">Immigrants\u2019 Resentment Over New Arrivals Helped Boost Trump\u2019s Popularity With Latino Voters<\/strong>\n                            <\/p>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"26.0\">Florida shows how a higher threshold for voter initiatives might play out. In 2006, the state raised the bar for constitutional amendments to 60%. This year, a majority of voters \u2014 57% \u2014 supported an abortion rights amendment, an even bigger margin than in Missouri, but not sufficient in Florida.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"27.0\">It\u2019s not clear yet, though, whether any of the measures have enough support in Missouri\u2019s General Assembly.<\/p>\n<p data-pp-blocktype=\"copy\" data-pp-id=\"28.0\">Lavender said that the campaign supporting abortion rights significantly outraised its opposition during the election. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be difficult to overturn,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll have the same money that supported it now going up against you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/missouri-abortion-amendment-republican-bill-proposals\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=133749\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}