Harris — Just days ago, six months after Missouri voters approved an abortion rights amendment, the state Supreme Court sided with anti-abortion Republicans and put a near-total abortion ban back into effect — overriding a lower court decision and, more importantly, ignoring the will of the people.
This is not just a fight over one state's laws. It's about whether voters, even after amending their constitution at the ballot box, actually have the power to protect their rights when extremist lawmakers are in control.
And it's proof that EMILYs List's growing effort to elect state Supreme Court justices who uphold the will of voters has never been more urgent.
We know the vast majority of Americans are pro-choice, but we need EMILYs List women running and winning at every level of government to ensure that choice is protected and voters are heard. Donate today to help recruit, train, and support more pro-choice champions, all across the country:
Here's how we got to this point:
In 2022, Missouri Republicans enacted one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions for rape or incest, and no meaningful options for people facing dangerous or traumatic pregnancies. Two years later, during the 2024 elections, Missourians voted to add a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, defined to include abortion and "all matters relating to reproductive health care," to the Missouri constitution. And earlier this year, a state judge temporarily blocked the state's restrictive ban, citing constitutional concerns.
But just last week, Missouri's Supreme Court sided with the state's Republican attorney general and reinstated the ban. That means the people of Missouri are living under a ban that a lower court already said violates their constitutional rights — rights Missourians just voted to secure.
So what's next? The amendment campaign to explicitly enshrine abortion rights in Missouri's constitution is still moving forward. But Republican leaders are already trying to stop it through lawsuits, legal delays, and legislative manipulation.
This is the new GOP strategy: If voters pass a ballot measure they don't like, they'll just find a way to undo it.
We've seen this in Ohio. In Florida. Now in Missouri. And we will see it again, unless we fight back with everything we've got.
That means electing Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot: not just to Congress and governors' mansions, but to state legislatures, attorney general seats, and to state supreme courts. These roles all matter in the fight to protect fundamental freedom and the rule of law.
The best way to fight anti-democratic, anti-choice extremism is by electing EMILYs List-endorsed women to every level of elected office. Donate now to protect choice nationwide:
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Emily Parés (she/her/hers)
Interim Vice President of State and Local Campaigns, EMILYs List
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