Over the last few months, you may have noticed people with clipboards outside stores, the library, and other public places. If you’re lucky, you haven’t been asked to sign their petition for “women’s reproductive rights.” If you’re not-so-lucky (like me), you’ve had many signature collectors ask, yell, and even knock on your door to get you to sign.
These signature gatherers are working hard on behalf of an initiative petition for a Missouri constitutional amendment that would guarantee a “right” to abortion. You read that right: an amendment to enshrine abortion into the Missouri Constitution.
This radical amendment would legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, even up to birth. If passed, it would instantly erase years of hard-fought pro-life legislation.
We still don’t know if the amendment will be on the ballot. The deadline for signature gathering is May 5th, and the Secretary of State’s office will then begin the process of verifying each signature. If the effort is successful in collecting the required 171,592 verified signatures with the correct percentage from each Congressional District, we will see abortion on our ballot in November.
As the deadline approaches, we will likely see even more petitioners these next few days before time runs out. With this increased presence, I thought it important to pause from our Banquet preparations and let you know what we are doing in light of this amendment:
First, we are praying. We must be on our knees often, praying that this effort to expand abortion access in our state will be unsuccessful.
Second, we are declining to sign. In these last few days of signature gathering, please tell your friends and family to decline to sign the petition when asked. If you or someone you know has signed this petition in error and would like to remove your name, please click here and complete the process before the signature gathering deadline of May 5th.
Third, we are waiting. It will take some time for the Secretary of State’s Office to complete the signature verification process, but we will keep you updated on the status of the amendment as we learn more.
Even if this effort is successful, and even if abortion becomes widely available once again in Missouri, my promise to you is that PCC will continue providing hope and real solutions to young people facing unplanned pregnancy in our community.
Thank you for your faithful partnership in furthering PCC’s mission to save lives and strengthen families, and for your commitment to protecting our state’s most vulnerable citizens: the unborn.
Blessings,
Lisa McIntire, CPA
Executive Director
