Elise Kelly The work we did in 2023– to build a base of storytellers, collect 15,000 signatures to raise the minimum wage, elect local reproductive freedom champions, and more— was essential to our work this year to get abortion rights on the ballot. During this time, the incredible AAM team has been hard at work, using every tool in our tool box to both mitigate the harm of Missouri’s near total abortion ban, and build the grassroots power necessary to restore meaningful, liberated abortion access for the future. In January 2024, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom launched a campaign to put abortion rights on the ballot and end Missouri’s cruel abortion ban. For three months, Abortion Action Missouri anchored the signature gathering campaign, and after more battles in court, just weeks ago the Missouri Supreme Court spoke definitively: YES on 3 is on the ballot! It has been two years since the US Supreme Court Dobbs decision changed everything, making Missouri the first state in the nation to ban abortion outright. In that time, Abortion Action Missouri and Abortion Action Missouri Foundation have worked tirelessly fighting for Missourians’ fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Over these two years, we have seen Missourians denied access to emergency medical care; rates of maternal mortality are rising in abortion ban states; healthcare providers are fleeing the state; people seeking fertility treatment are scared of criminalization. The list of consequences goes on.
And now, in 45 days, we will END Missouri’s abortion ban. This effort is Missouri-grown and Missouri-led and it is a fight from the ground up. The future of abortion access in Missouri lies in the hands of people-powered movements with deep ties in our community. It lies with YOU ─ with YOU the volunteers, activists, and the funders who make this work possible ─ with YOU, our elected leaders across our state who show up to fight in the toughest of climates ─ with YOU, abortion providers, funders, and connectors, who ensure Missourians have access to compassionate abortion care every day. And with YOU leading this fight, we know
we can end the abortion ban at the ballot box and build the future of Missouri that we deserve.
Executive Director Abortion Action Missouri
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