Cost of Missouri abortion-rights petition challenged in court again

Source: Associated Press

Cost of Missouri abortion-rights petition challenged in court again

BY SUMMER BALLENTINE
Updated 6:20 PM EDT, August 7, 2023

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists on Monday filed a court challenge against an initiative petition to legalize abortion.

In the lawsuit, Rep. Hannah Kelly, Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and activist Kathy Forck argued that the cost estimate that will be provided to voters considering whether to adopt the constitutional amendment is too low.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in a court brief that the price tag should account for a potential loss of Medicaid funding, as well as the projected number of fewer people born because of abortions and subsequent lost tax revenue.

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The Missouri Supreme Court last month sided with the abortion-rights campaign in a lawsuit over a similar dispute about the petition’s cost. ACLU of Missouri lawyers represented supporters of the initiative petition in the previous lawsuit.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-97205f3b12293bdd82622ff564be3d4e