UPDATE (Sept. 10): The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 10 that Amendment 3, which – if passed – will codify expansive abortion rights within the Missouri Constitution, must be placed on the state ballot, Nov. 5. Read more here.
As I write these words, the fate of one of the most radical challenges to our constitutional order in the state of Missouri – namely, the proposed pro-abortion Amendment 3 – is being weighed in the state court system. Why do I call this legislation radical? I do so, in short, because it seeks to uproot the divinely endowed and unalienable right to life that founders of the United States affirmed in the Declaration of Independence. If our right to life is denied in such a way, in our very own state Constitution, what other rights can ultimately stand?
On Sept. 6, a Missouri judge ruled that pro-abortion advocates who led the petition process for Amendment 3, which aims to codify expansive abortion rights within the Missouri Constitution, didn’t follow state law. The decision leaves open the possibility that Amendment 3 could be stricken from Missouri ballots.
Here is some background on the case: The Missouri Secretary of State’s office announced, Aug. 13, that these pro-abortion advocates had gathered enough signatures to present their proposed constitutional amendment to voters during the Nov. 5 general election. But, in a lawsuit filed on Aug. 22, Thomas More Society attorneys challenged the inclusion of Amendment 3 on the November ballot.
Benjamin Hawkins, editor of The Pathway
The lawsuit alleges that the initiative petition should never have been certified, since it runs afoul of the Missouri Constitution and state statutes. According to Thomas More Society attorneys, Amendment 3 would repeal essentially every state statute and constitutional provision regulating reproductive care and technologies, including all existing regulation of abortion, cloning, IVF for stem cell research, gender transition surgery, and genital mutilation. Indeed, Amendment 3 doesn’t only push abortion to an extremely radical degree – as Missouri Right to Life has documented (see infographic below) – but it also radically impacts many other issues besides abortion.
By failing to specify the provisions that it would repeal, Thomas More Society attorneys argued, the initiative petition violated Missouri Revised Statute Section 116.050. This statute requires that signers of an initiative petition be informed of “the full and correct text” of the initiative, which must “[i]nclude all sections of existing law or of the Constitution which would be repealed by the measure.”
In his Sept. 6th ruling, Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh agreed that the initiative petition leading to Amendment 3 didn’t abide by Missouri law, since it failed—as reported in the Missouri Independent—“to include any statue or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statutes are apparent.”
However, Limbaugh temporarily stayed an injunction that would pull Amendment 3 from the Missouri ballot, giving pro-abortion advocates until Tuesday, Sept. 10, to appeal his ruling.
The Missouri Supreme Court has now scheduled a hearing regarding Amendment 3 at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Many observers expect them to issue a ruling later that day. Let me urge Missouri Baptists to stop what they’re doing tomorrow morning and pray that the Missouri Supreme Court will affirm Limbaugh’s ruling and take Amendment 3 off the state ballot. (Read update here.)
Moreover, if Judge Limbaugh’s ruling is upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court and if Amendment 3 is removed from Missouri ballots, we should take time to thank God and praise Him for saving the lives of thousands of unborn babies. Not only this, but we should thank Him for sparing us—as a society—from having the blood of these children on our hands.
If Limbaugh’s ruling is overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, I would encourage Missouri Baptists, as well as other God-fearing men and women across the state, to do the following:
• First, we should pray, asking God to show mercy toward all of us by protecting the unborn in Missouri. Nations fall and rise at His word, and He sways the hearts of kings, courts, presidents, legislators and voters to fulfill His ultimate purposes. Ultimately, this battle belongs to the Lord – and this won’t be the last time that we need to call on Him to defend the unborn in our state and nation.
• Second, we should be ready to stand for the unborn – in pulpits, in conversations, in the ballot box. The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5th general election is Oct. 9. So, let’s all register to vote and encourage our churches to do the same. Let’s preach boldly against Amendment 3, defending unborn life, and let’s vote boldly and biblically on Nov. 5.
According to Missouri Baptist Convention legal counsel Mike Whitehead, Missouri Baptist pastors have a wide scope for speaking to these issues from the pulpit. On Sept. 3, he released the following statement to help pastors know how they can respond to Amendment 3 (abbreviated as AMD#3):
“Pastors and lay leaders in Missouri Churches should have every confidence in their First Amendment right to proclaim God’s Truth as applied to public policy issues, from their pulpits, pews, and in the public square. This includes the right to seek to persuade Missourians to VOTE NO on AMD #3, the proposed Abortion Rights Amendment on the November 5 ballot.”
Whitehead continues, “Churches, pastors and other leaders should feel free to engage in the following kinds of activities, without risking the church’s tax exempt status or violating other laws:
“1. Preach in the pulpit, urging Church members to register to vote and to VOTE NO on AMD#3, urging them to talk to friends and neighbors and social media contacts about the reasons to VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“2. Speak in public meetings, rallies, on television and radio, and on social media about reasons to VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“3. Host meetings at the Church inviting outside speakers to make non-partisan presentations about VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“4. Provide a Voter Registration table in the Church lobby, and a literature distribution table, providing non-partisan information about VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“5. Write letters to the editor of religious and secular newspapers, homeowner’s associations, social club newsletters or email blasts, urging the public to VOTE NO on AMD#3 and providing reasons why.
“6. Pass a Church Resolution declaring the official Church support for VOTE NO on AMD#3, urging members to share the Resolution with friends and contacts, and distribute copies of the resolution to social media and print media contacts, denominational media, etc.
“7. Propose a Motion for official Church action that authorizes an expenditure of funds from the Church budget to be contributed to other organizations like Missouri Right to Life or Reason for Life, et al., to help with the expenses of their campaign to VOTE NO on AMD#3; or to be spent for campaign purposes by the Church directly (printing, mailing, social media content creation, etc.) Purchase, post and distribute yard signs on church and private property, urging the public to VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“8. Write and publish articles by Church staff or members, or re-post articles by others, urging citizens to VOTE NO on AMD#3.
“9. Allow the pastor’s name to be listed in public advertising by non-partisan organizations supporting VOTE NO on AMD#3. The pastor or leaders may be identified with the Church’s name for identification purposes, or the Church may be officially identified if its governing body has officially adopted this position and authorized publication of its name.
“10. Share this memo with other pastors or ministry leaders who may have questions or concerns about legal risks of being involved in the campaign to VOTE NO on AMD#3.”
A complete copy of Whitehead’s memo can be found online here.
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Right to Life has released this informational resource regarding Amendment 3. It can be accessed at here. (Missouri Right to Life artwork)