KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Missouri Republicans running for statewide office in 2024 used the backdrop of a legal proceeding Monday to highlight their continuing opposition to abortion.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is vying for the Republican nomination for governor, and appointed Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is seeking his first full term, sat together before a three-judge panel seeking to determine the fairness of ballot language that would restore abortion rights in Missouri.
Neither politician spoke directly to the court, leaving the state’s arguments to Bailey deputy Josh Divine, who told the Missouri Court of Appeals at Kansas City that the ballot summary produced by a Cole County judge was inadequate.
“The trial court strayed far from its role,†Divine said.
Ashcroft is appealing a Sept. 25 ruling by Circuit Judge Jon Beetem that the ballot language he submitted for six proposed constitutional amendments legalizing abortion was biased and unfair.
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Beetem ruled that “certain phrases included in the secretary’s summary are problematic in that they are argumentative or do not fairly describe the purposes or probable effect of the initiative.â€
Among phrases Beetem found objectionable were those that said the ballot initiatives would allow “dangerous, unregulated and unrestricted abortions,†that abortion would be allowed “from conception to live birth†and could be performed by anyone “without requiring a medical license†or “potentially being subject to medical malpractice.â€
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the appellate judges .
After the hearings, Ashcroft and Bailey stood on a downtown Kansas City street corner and spoke to reporters.
“We’re in this fight and committed to it,†said Bailey, an appointee of Gov. Mike Parson. “This is bad policy for the state of Missouri.â€
“This is about people needing to be told the truth,†Ashcroft said as abortion opponents looked on.
Attorneys also argued over the duties of state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick.
Under the Missouri Constitution, Fitzpatrick must issue a fiscal note telling voters how much the change in law will cost taxpayers.
Fitzpatrick, an abortion opponent, has faced pressure by fellow Republicans to raise the estimated cost of the change. He has resisted, arguing he is simply doing his job.
Attorneys for the ACLU, which is arguing the case on behalf of abortion-rights supporters, said Bailey attempted to “strongarm†Fitzpatrick into “pretending the cost would be billions of dollars.â€
Then, after the Missouri Supreme Court earlier blocked Bailey’s maneuver, the lawmakers filed their lawsuit arguing many similar points. The challenge was filed by state Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, and Kathy Forck, a longtime anti-abortion advocate from New Bloomfield.
Attorneys also questioned the calculation Greene County made in determining a change in state abortion law would cost $51,000 based on the number of people it would no longer have if legal abortion returns to Missouri.
“Greene County’s math is bogus,†the brief said, adding that it is “farcical†and “unreasonable.â€
During arguments, Appeals Court Judge Alok Ahuja expressed some skepticism about the arguments used by the lawmakers to refute Fitzpatrick.
“It strikes me as not that simple,†Ahuja said.
Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney for the Thomas More Society, which is representing the lawmakers, said Fitzpatrick’s fiscal summary is misleading and fails to give voters adequate information about the ballot question.
The review process that produces a ballot title summary and financial estimate typically takes 56 days to complete. But, that time period passed in May because of multiple legal challenges, giving supporters less time to secure more than 170,000 signatures by early 2024.
Another lawsuit, dealing with a separate set of abortion-related initiative petitions, .
In that lawsuit, filed Thursday in Cole County Circuit Court, Jamie Corley said ballot summaries written by Ashcroft described provisions in “antagonistic and blatantly incorrect terms likely to prejudice voters against the measures.â€
Corley, a Republican political operative from University City, also took aim at Fitzpatrick’s fiscal estimates, which she called argumentative and also likely to create prejudice against the questions.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to set their own abortion restrictions, Missouri was among several to ban all abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. Abortions in the case of rape or incest are not allowed under the Missouri law.