Abortion rights measure will be on Missouri's November ballot, court rules

An amendment to restore abortion rights in Missouri will be on the ballot, the state's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution is expected to widely undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed. Judges ruled hours before the Tuesday deadline for changes to be made to the November ballot.

Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, during Tuesday arguments told Supreme Court judges that the initiative petition misled voters by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal.

Abortion-rights campaign lawyer Chuck Hatfield described the lawsuit as an attempt to derail democracy.

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself following a county circuit judge's ruling Friday.

The amendment is part of a national push to have voters weigh