Abortion Enshrined In Missouri's Constitution? D.C.-Based Dark Money Helped Put It On The Ballot

Missourians could be asked to add the right to an abortion to the state's constitution when they go to the polls later this year. But the proposed constitutional amendment would be on the ballot largely due to out-of-state organizations that helped fund the petition process.

From the Missouri Independent:

A campaign to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution said Friday that it collected more than 380,000 signatures in just three months, more than twice the likely total needed to qualify for this year’s statewide ballot.
The coalition, called Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, is hoping to put on the November ballot a measure that would legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability. Since June 2022, nearly every abortion has been illegal in the state with the exception of medical emergencies.

A prior Missouri Independent article revealed the majority of the funding for the initiative petition process came from outside of the state: D.C.-based and national advocacy groups pouring millions of dollars into the campaign to bring abortions back to Missouri:

[A report filed Monday, April 15], covering the first three months of the year, shows the campaign has raised $4.9 million. Additional reports of large contributions filed since April 1 show another $435,000 in contributions.
Of that amount, 3,206 individual Missourians have contributed $1.8 million. Of the top 15 donors, eight are from Missouri and gave $850,000. The seven donors who gave the most, making up more than half the total raised, are national advocacy organizations.
The largest single donor to the campaign is the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal dark money organization based in Washington, D.C., that gave $1 million.

Signature verification is under way for the initiative petition. The proposed amendment, once verified, would likely appear on the November ballot.