Vote NO on Amendment 3

 

By Gretchen Garrity

In my article "Missouri's Pro-life Schism: Part One," I asked the question of when Missouri Right to Life began using the word "inception" instead of "conception" in their mission statement. Nancy M. Stroppel, a former MRL board member has noted in an opinion piece at Informed Health Choice Missouri (ICHM) that her paperwork from two decades ago indicates the mission statement has been unchanged since at least that time.

She writes, "Today, I found in my records from twenty years ago the Missouri Right to Life mission statement. I opened the MRL website and found that it is the same today. It states “Missouri Right to Life’s mission is to uphold and promote the sanctity of all innocent life from inception to natural death through education, legislation, and political action.” Sitting around the MRL Board table forty years ago, I heard seasoned warriors from the 1970’s discussing the implementation of that mission."

Stroppel goes on to detail the history of abortion laws in Missouri. She notes that Missouri was at the forefront of protecting unborn children, "Webster [vs. Reproductive Health Services] allowed abortion exceptions only for the life of the mother – none for rape and incest. It was a watershed decision which stood the test of time for almost forty years. Missouri was on the offensive, winning pro-life victory after victory and envied as one of the most pro-life states."

She then goes on to detail the church's apathy and lack of action when 2024's Amendment 3 was presented. Stroppel writes, "Overall, it was disheartening to see the apathy in the church. Sadly, the 2024 initiative passed by only a slim margin of 1.6% which could have been defeated if only church leadership would had preached then on the sin of abortion and educated their people about the amendment. I also believe if MRL would have immediately initiated an ongoing two-year education campaign within churches in 2025, it would have made it possible to repeal all of A3 2024 this year. Rather, we had an attempt to “fix it” with a last-minute effort to convince the churches to “jump on the bandwagon because we were not involved in 2024” approach."

Involved in the pro-life movement for many decades, Stroppel is against the 2026 Amendment 3 on the ballot. She closes out her essay with this: "Amendment 3 2026 should have never been brought to the voters of Missouri in this form for several reasons. 1) It is not true to MRL’s mission statement to “uphold and promote the sanctity of all innocent life from inception to natural death” which includes those conceived in rape, incest or have fetal anomalies. 2) It doesn’t ban all abortions. 3) It provides taxpayer funding for the rape, incest and medical emergencies abortions through Medicaid. 4) It is convoluted. 5) A total repeal of Amendment 3 2024 should have been offered to the people of Missouri."

She is entirely logical and reasonable in her assessment. To now watch MRL throw decades of advocacy for all unborn children down the tubes and promote an amendment that codifies an abortable sub-class of humans in the state constitution must be a bitter pill to swallow. Christian pastors and legislators, along with MRL and organizations like Her Health, Her Future are promoting a pro-abortion agenda when they urge their flocks and constituents to vote for A3 tomorrow.

The fallout from this vote on Amendment 3 may well be the Waterloo for establishment pro-life groups. The mask is off. When the smoke clears, there will be no hiding, and no amount of excuses for having bowed to the god of politics. The large dollar amounts of anonymous donations to HHHF in the last few weeks shows how committed the establishment 'pro-life' organizations in Jefferson City are to codifying abortion in the state constitution. Billions of dollars are at stake.

If it wasn't all about money and political power before, it is now. Citizens should be aware of how they are being manipulated by forces far above them. The politicians and organizations carrying out the agenda will have their reward. The voters have the power to return Missouri to sanity. Support the passage of personhood and equal protection laws. They will be introduced again for 2027's legislative session. In the meantime vote NO on Amendment 3 tomorrow.