With referendum looking 'impossible,' ACLU shifts gears in abortion fight

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri wasted no time challenging the state’s new abortion restrictions this summer.

On May 28, the first business day after Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy, the ACLU filed a petition aimed at blocking the law from taking effect Aug. 28 and forcing a public vote next year.

But with a month left to gather more than 100,000 signatures, the group hasn't collected a single one and will almost certainly have to shift its strategy moving forward. 

From the ACLU's perspective, the blame lies squarely with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, who rejected the petition June 6, saying an emergency clause putting part of the bill into immediate effect exempted the entire law from a referendum.

A court ruled against him earlier this month but declined to compensate the ACLU for lost time, meaning that with the remaining time for public comment and administrative review, Ashcroft could wait as late as Aug. 14 to approve the petition for circulation.

ACLU legislative director Sara Baker said in an interview this week that Ashcroft’s action, which he said was prompted by genuine constitutional concerns, has taken its toll. 

“Unfortunately with the time crunch that he’s putting us in, he’s making the referendum process impossible,” Baker said.

Maura Browning, Ashcroft's communications director, maintained in an interview that her boss was conducting the petition review process in accordance with state law.

It’s not clear that the ACLU is completely giving up on the referendum effort.

Tony Rothert, the organization’s interim head and legal director, told the Associated Press on Thursday that the group could start encouraging people to call Ashcroft’s office and pressure him to process the petition “as soon as next week.”

And there's already a website urging visitors to do just that.

But Baker said starting next week, the ACLU will be deploying the people who were supposed to help collect the 100,126 signatures for the referendum to instead register people to vote.

"We have everything ready to go for the referendum … so we’re going to use the fact we have that in place,” she said. “Through voter registration, we’re going to make sure folks have the tools to hold elected officials, including Secretary Ashcroft, accountable.”

A letter published in Sunday's News-Leader signed by the ACLU and other organizations that support abortion rights struck a similar tone.

After acknowledging the likely failure of the referendum push, the groups wrote that "today and every day we will continue to fight for every person’s fundamental right to access legal abortion — and we won’t stop until we vote out every politician who gets in between a pregnant person and their right to make personal decisions about their life, body and destiny."

The ACLU and allied organizations could also sue to block the law from taking effect. Experts say such a challenge would almost certainly be successful in the lower courts.

Baker declined to comment directly on that possibility but told a reporter she "would expect some news on that in the near future."

They could also file a separate initiative petition that would ask voters to approve a new law superseding the Republican law.

It's difficult to say how such a petition would fare, and Baker said it was premature to discuss the possibility.

But progressive-minded ballot issues have enjoyed success with voters in recent years.

Missourians overwhelmingly approved limits on campaign contributions in 2016, and then ratified initiatives legalizing medical marijuana, increasing the minimum wage, and taking on partisan gerrymandering issues two years later.

A successful petition would also provide insurance in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision the legalized abortion nationwide, which would nullify any legal challenge.

And if the most recent session is any indication, a successful petition would provide progressives with reliable talking points about defending voters' will should Republicans try to revive similar anti-abortion legislation.