Missouri Abortion Rights Measure Violates State Law, Judge Says

The text of a Missouri abortion rights measure failed to meet state statutory requirements for ballot questions, a state judge ruled Friday while stopping short of removing the petition from the November ballot.

The text of the proposed constitutional amendment from Missourians for Constitutional Freedom should have specified that the measure, if approved by voters, would effectively repeal the state’s total abortion ban, Judge Christopher Kirby Limbaugh of the Missouri Circuit Court, Cole County, wrote in his opinion.

Limbaugh, however, declined to grant the request from Republican lawmakers and activists to prevent the issue from going before voters in ...