(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Losing Ballot Issues on Abortion, G.O.P. Now Tries to Keep Them Off the Ballot [1]

['Kate Zernike', 'Michael Wines']

Date: 2023-04-23

Mr. King has joined a lawsuit seeking to strike down the new restraints on ballot initiatives in Arkansas. “One of the core beliefs I was taught in being a Republican is that we should make it easier for citizens to get things on the ballot and challenge what government does,” he said. The new Arkansas law, he said, “simply crossed the line.”

In Missouri, the Republican-led legislature is on the verge of putting a constitutional amendment on the November ballot raising the approval threshold for proposed constitutional amendments to 60 percent, from 50 percent. Voters, however, would be unlikely to know that the measure would do that. The proposal, passed by the House and sent to the State Senate, specifies that it be described on the ballot only as a measure to require voters to be properly registered U.S. citizens and Missouri residents — which the state Constitution already requires.

The chief sponsor of the measure, State Representative Mike Henderson, did not respond to phone and email requests for comment. In debate on the House floor, Republicans said they were not trying to deceive voters.

Legislatures began accelerating bans and other restrictions on abortion beginning a decade ago, after Republicans took control of more statehouses. Ohio has been at the forefront of those attempts. It was among the first states to attempt a so-called heartbeat law, banning abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, when many women do not realize they are pregnant. (That law passed in 2019 and went into effect after Roe was overturned but has been temporarily blocked by a state court.)

The state made national headlines in July after a 10-year-old rape victim had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion because a doctor said her pregnancy was beyond six weeks.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/us/republicans-abortion-voting.html

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/