Missouri voters could face choice between continued abortion ban and new constitutional amendment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters could have a choice this fall between a continued ban on abortions and a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights until later in a woman’s pregnancy.

The secretary of state’s office faced a Tuesday deadline to determine whether an abortion-rights initiative received enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the November ballot. If so, it would take approval from a majority of voters to effectively reverse the state’s current restrictions.

Initiative supporters have expressed confidence the measure will make the ballot after submitting more than double the necessary number of signatures.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft also is determining whether there are sufficient signatures to hold November elections on initiatives raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, legalizing sports betting and authorizing a casino at the popular tourist destination of the Lake of the Ozarks.

Missouri would join at least a half-dozen states voting on abortion rights during the presidential election. Arizona’s secretary of state certified an abortion-rights measure for the ballot on Monday. Measures also will go before voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and South Dakota. While not explicitly addressing abortion rights, a New York ballot measure would bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive healthcare,” among other things.

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