By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Amendment 3 on the ballot Tuesday would overturn Missouri’s
abortion ban and place in the state constitution the fundamental right to
reproductive freedom.
While critics say the amendment would allow abortions up to
nine months of pregnancy, Blue Missouri Executive Director Jess Piper counters
those critics don’t understand the reality women considering abortion face.
“When people talk about women having abortions late into their
pregnancies, they’re really dealing with women who have been subjected to something
horrible,” Piper says during her appearance on the KFEQ Hotline. “These women
have a nursery at home. They have strollers. They have a name picked out and something
devastating has happened.”
Yet, Coalition Life Executive Director Brian Westbrook claims
Amendment 3 goes too far, placing no real restrictions on abortion.
“But this is abortion in all nine months of pregnancy and if
we look at the definition of fetal viability, it clearly is all nine months of
pregnancy,” Westbrook says during his time on the KFEQ Hotline.
Amendment 3 would create a section in the Missouri Constitution
entitled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative.” Under the section, the
government would not be able to infringe on a person’s fundamental right to
reproductive freedom.
Piper points out the amendment allows regulations after Fetal
Viability.
“If we leave those decisions to the people who have the
expertise, I definitely trust a doctor to understand viability and it would be
different with every fetus, right, different with every pregnancy,” Piper says.
Westbrook notes the amendment allows for abortion after Fetal
Viability if a doctor determines the abortion is needed to protect the life or
the physical or mental health of the “pregnant person.”
“And this would be a far, sweeping change, all the way to the
other side,” according to Westbrook. “Basically, we’re removing absolutely every
safeguard with regards to all reproductive health. They didn’t limit this just to
abortion.”
The Missouri General Assembly had earlier enacted a so-called
trigger law that banned abortions after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v.
Wade. An initiative petition campaign succeeded in placing Amendment 3 on the
ballot Tuesday.
Westbrook calls the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment
broad and specific; not vague.
Piper says the amendment’s language is broad, because abortion
is not black and white.
“Abortion looks different in every single situation and I know
the people listening to this right now know their mothers and their sisters and
their daughters aren’t people who get pregnant to have an abortion, right?”
Piper states. “Life happens. Tragedies happen. And women need access to health
care.”
Piper rejects allegations the broad language in the amendment
could be used to keep a parent from knowing if their child would undergo a sex
change operation.
But Westbrook claims Amendment 3 is so broad, it would go far
beyond just restoring abortion rights.
“Well, this is sex change operations for minors without their
parent’s knowledge or consent,” according to Westbrook. “This is abortion in
all nine months of pregnancy. It’s a loss of medical malpractice protections.”
Amendment 3 would allow the Missouri legislature to regulate
abortions after “Fetal Viability,” unless a health care professional determines
an abortion is needed “to protect the life or physical or mental health of the
pregnant person.” The amendment does not use the word “woman.”
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
