Pro-life activists are warning about “deceptive” ballot initiatives that could pave the way for unlimited abortion in red states if approved by voters in November.
The ballot initiatives employ deceptive language, like saying a measure would allow abortion up to the point of “viability” — but lets pro-abortion doctors determine what “viability” means. Other ballots would permit abortions for “mental health” reasons, another broad category that could be interpreted to expand abortion.
“A lot of deception on the side of the [abortion] proponents because they know that if they were honest about their ultimate goal, which is to repeal not just the gestational limit but all these other laws like no taxpayer funding for abortion, like parental consent, like informed consent, that voters would never support that,” SBA Pro-Life America policy director Katie Glenn Daniel told The Daily Wire.
Pro-life activists face a massive funding disadvantage in the 10 states where abortion is on the ballot, including New York, Florida, and Arizona. The language on the Florida ballot says that there can be no pro-life protections “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
In Montana, the language would block protections before “viability,” which is defined as “the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case.”
Dr. Ingrid Skop, a researcher with the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, said that allowing the doctor to define viability was dangerous. She said that since the abortionist’s goal is to end the life of the unborn baby, he will decide that the “baby will never be viable because I am going to end his life.”
“So we can see that this very ambiguous wording is going to lead to many abortions long after the time of viability for reasons most Americans would not consider to be a compelling reason for ending human life,” Skop told The Daily Wire.
Other ballot initiatives de-emphasize abortion, to make voters think they’re only deciding on less controversial components. Missouri’s abortion ballot measure includes guarantees to things like miscarriage care and fertility treatments, which are not prohibited by any state law. This strategy paid off for pro-abortion activists in Ohio last year, where voters passed a ballot measure expanding abortion rights thanks in part to ambiguous language.
“By making these ballot initiatives worded in such a deceptive way people think to themselves, ‘Oh I must have to vote for this in order to allow a mom to get emergency care,” Skop said.
Skop added that many of the ballot initiatives also include vague provisions on abortions that are necessary for “health of the mother,” once a defined medical category that has now grown to include mental, financial, social, and familial factors. Abortions measures in states including Missouri and and Nevada have “mental health” as a justification for an abortion.
“Many abortions way past the age of viability were performed with the excuse that this was needed for a woman’s health,” Skop said.
Abortion is on the ballot in Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, New York, and Maryland. So far, the pro-abortion side has reportedly raised around $108 million, while the pro-life side has raked in just $14 million.
Daniel said it made sense that the pro-abortion side was spending so much money on the races, as they were essentially making a business investment.
“The abortion industry has no guard rails on how much money they will spend on this because it’s an investment in their ability to run their business without any limits,” she said. “So of course they are going to open the wallets to spend money to lie to voters.”
The pro-abortion groups have also used language typically associated with more conservative voters, with many talking about limiting government and using names like “Missourians for Constitutional Freedom” and “Floridians Protecting Freedom.”
But pro-life groups are working to make their voice heard as Election Day nears. Live Action announced on Thursday a six-figure digital ad campaign to urge voters in Missouri and Florida to vote “no” on the abortion amendments.
“Abortionists and their collaborators are pouring tens of millions of dollars into propaganda to try to mislead voters and conceal the fact that these amendments would legalize abortions on babies through all nine months of pregnancy,” Live Action founder Lila Rose said. “Lives are on the line in Florida and Missouri like never before in state history.”
Pro-lifers have seen a number of setbacks at the ballot box from Kansas to Kentucky to Ohio, but believe they can be successful if more Americans knew the full extent of the abortion agenda being pushed by Democrats. For example, pro-abortion activists in Michigan are suing to force taxpayer funding for abortion, which has long been banned by state law.
“The other side knows they have to be deceptive to get this across the finish line,” Daniel said. “What we see is that when voters are informed they reject that extremism.”
