{"id":281026,"date":"2022-12-09T14:37:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T20:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=281026"},"modified":"2022-12-09T11:47:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T17:47:30","slug":"ballot-initiatives-cement-expand-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ballot-initiatives-cement-expand-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-abortion advocates shift focus to state ballot initiatives to cement and expand abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pro-abortion ballot initiatives are being proposed for the 2023 and 2024 election cycles in an effort to thwart pro-life victories gained after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The move is being\u00a0fueled by pro-abortion wins<\/a> in multiple states during the recent election cycle where pro-life ballot measures failed and pro-abortion measures passed. These measures actually served to remove even the protections for preborn human beings that were in place during<\/em> Roe. The strategy also involves pro-abortion efforts at the local city and county levels<\/a> to deprioritize and fund abortion<\/a> and to target pro-life pregnancy help centers.<\/p>\n

“In every state where voters were asked to weigh in directly on abortion rights, they\u00a0supported measures<\/a>\u00a0that protect those rights and rejected initiatives that could threaten them,” reported NPR<\/a> following the 2022 mid-terms. “Those victories have abortion rights advocates looking at where they can next take the fight directly to voters.” NPR is a notable pro-abortion<\/a> outlet.<\/p>\n

What’s not mentioned by NPR is the fact that pro-abortion propaganda<\/a>, deception<\/a>, and misinformation<\/a> can largely be credited for the success of these measures (as well as some significant funding from out-of-state pro-abortion<\/a> billionaires<\/a> like George Soros and Michael Bloomberg). Some of these states, as a result, now\u00a0label abortion as a “right,” removing any meaningful protections from humans in the womb regardless of gestational age<\/em>. In other words, the measures are even more pro-abortion<\/em> than Roe<\/em> was.<\/p>\n

Abortion advocates eye multiple states<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“Proponents of abortion rights are eyeing 10 states where citizens can mount initiatives to amend their state constitutions and where abortion access is currently restricted as possible battlegrounds for ballot measures,” CBS News reported<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

This was confirmed by Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who\u00a0told<\/a> NPR that the legal\u00a0group is looking at several states as potential targets for future ballot campaigns, including Ohio and Florida. In addition,\u00a0ACLU’s senior political strategist, Carolyn Ehrlich, said the ACLU had been contacted<\/a> by partners in at least a dozen states regarding similar campaigns.<\/p>\n

The ACLU’s\u00a0enthusiasm for a culture of death was joined by\u00a0Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which is spearheading pro-abortion efforts in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and South Dakota, among others.<\/p>\n

“Ballot measures, where they are available, offer citizens a workaround past ideological extremism, gridlock, the failure to govern, and in this instance, the opportunity to say, ‘Some rights are so fundamental, they need to be outside the political arena. We want these rights to be durable, to outlast any politicians’ tenure. This belongs in our state constitution, this isn’t up to you,'” Hall told<\/a> CBS News. \u201cThey\u2019re starting now, because the process for getting any type of measure on the ballot takes a very long time.”<\/p>\n

“Only 17 states allow citizens, not just lawmakers, to initiate ballot proposals to amend the state constitution,”\u00a0reported PewTrust.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Among those, abortion rights supporters in at least 10 states with abortion bans or tight restrictions \u2014 Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Dakota \u2014 are already discussing strategies and tactics for putting abortion initiatives on the 2024 presidential election ballot,” PewTrust.org<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n

In addition, CBS News<\/a>\u00a0reported that pro-abortion activists are looking into initiatives in Colorado.<\/p>\n

States considering pro-abortion ballot initiatives<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Missouri<\/strong>: Abortion advocates in Missouri, which currently protects most preborn babies, are considering<\/a>\u00a0a 2024 pro-abortion ballot measure to repeal the state’s protections for preborn human beings.<\/p>\n

Julie Lynn, spokeswoman for Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0\u201cpeople are looking at all options to try and regain access to abortion in Missouri, and that is one of the possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Washington Post noted, “Republicans, who have a majority in the state legislature, are pushing efforts to make the initiative petition process more onerous.” Samuel Lee, director of the Campaign Life Missouri, told<\/a> KMOV.com that the pro-life community is considering its own measure to protect preborn lives.<\/p>\n

New Jersey<\/strong>: Lawmakers were looking into a ballot measure for next year which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution,\u00a0reported<\/a> the Washington Post. But the move received negative input<\/a> from mainstream pro-abortion groups, fearing the measure “would have produced an unintended adverse effect and potentially brought our right to abortion\u00a0backwards<\/i>\u00a0in our state.” So it was rescinded<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ohio<\/strong>: The effort to codify a ‘right’ to abortion in Ohio has already begun. According to\u00a0Cleveland.com<\/a>, “Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, one of the groups involved, already is accepting contributions on its website to pay for a campaign to pass such a constitutional amendment. It established a political action committee for the effort on Aug. 15, less than two weeks after the ballot measure to remove abortion rights in Kansas was defeated.”<\/p>\n

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We need your help to get abortion on the ballot in Ohio! We\u2019re all in this together. Help us get to 50. Any amount is appreciated! https:\/\/t.co\/MblBnhcdrT<\/a> #ohioreprorights<\/a> #prochoice<\/a> #GivingTuesday2022<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QKfPsXl4nL<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (@OhioReproRights) November 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n