Campaign to legalize abortion in Missouri raises nearly $5M in 3 months

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A campaign to legalize abortion in Missouri on Tuesday announced it raised close to $5 million in the past three months, a fundraising sprint crucial to getting the measure on this year’s ballot.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom announced it brought in more than $4.8 million from January through the end of March. A rival anti-abortion campaign raised $85,000 in the same time period.

If approved by voters, the Missouri measure would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Lawmakers would still be able to regulate abortion after fetal viability.

Missouri outlawed almost all abortions with no exceptions in the case of rape or incest immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri law only allows abortions for medical emergencies.

The abortion-rights campaign has until May 5 to gather signatures from 8% of legal voters in any six of the eight congressional districts. At minimum, that represents more than 171,000 valid voter signatures.

So far, the campaign has spent more than $3.4 million. Most of that — about $3.2 million — has gone to signature gathering and processing.

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