Missouri recently approved a ballot initiative for constitutional reproductive rights, marking a significant moment in the 2024 election regarding abortion. However, this victory is met with swift action from Republican lawmakers aiming to reverse the decision. Their strategy stems from lessons learned after previous defeats, leading to a belief that voters misunderstood the implications of existing bans. Missouri's GOP hopes to reframe sweeping bans with exceptions, managing voter sentiment more effectively. This evolving narrative highlights the anti-abortion movement's ongoing challenges in rallying support in a conservative yet changing political landscape.
...Republican lawmakers are pushing a new constitutional amendment to overturn the result voters put in place. The Missouri experiment reflects the lessons that abortion opponents have taken from their heavy losses in past ballot fights.
For decades, the anti-abortion movement has argued that women should be treated as the second victims of abortion...Now, Missouri Republicans are applying the same theory to voters to forgive them for rejecting the GOP's abortion policy.
Each defeat has prompted soul-searching among abortion opponents. Some have recognized that voters don't like bans that begin at fertilization, especially when those laws include harsh criminal penalties.
Missouri conservatives think voters only opted for Amendment 3, the reproductive rights ballot measure, because the state's ban didn't have enough exceptions, banking on a rebranding of sweeping bans.
Collection
[
|
...
]