No. Some political issues are complex and nuanced, with no clear biblical position. Other issues start as moral and biblical issues and become politicized. Taking the lives of innocent children before they are born is a biblical and moral wrong that the church should oppose whether it is on the ballot or not.

Abortion has been normalized in our culture, which makes it seem less heinous to some people. Consider a ballot initiative to legalize domestic abuse or killing toddlers if they cause their parents stress. Would it be wrong for the church to speak out against those proposals? This issue is no different. It is not a political issue even though it has been politicized.

No. Hurting innocent people without moral justification is never a preference or conviction. A constitutional amendment that legalizes taking the lives of babies without any medical necessity, even if it has other desirable benefits, goes against the values and morality of the Christian faith.

No. Missouri’s current law reads: “No abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency.” A “medical emergency” is defined in the law as: “a condition which, based on reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert the death of the pregnant woman
or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”

No. Under current Missouri law, women cannot be prosecuted even for obtaining an illegal abortion. Only a “person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion of an unborn child” is in violation of the current law. The law states: “A woman upon whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subsection shall not be prosecuted.”

No. There is nothing in the current Missouri law that restricts or delays prenatal care, postnatal care, miscarriage care, or abortive care for life-threatening or bodily function-threatening pregnancies.

Yes. Amendment 3 states: “The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to… abortion care.”

Yes. Amendment 3 allows all abortions before and after “fetal viability” (a subjective decision by any healthcare professional) all the way until full-term birth. The only distinction is that after “fetal viability,” a healthcare professional must cite “mental health” as a reason for the abortion. If Amendment 3 passes, a Planned Parenthood staff member can determine that a pregnancy is causing a woman stress at any point during pregnancy and authorize an abortion.

The amendment states: “The general assembly may enact laws that regulate the provision of abortion after Fetal Viability provided that under no circumstance shall the Government deny, interfere with, delay, or otherwise restrict an abortion that in the
good faith judgment of a treating health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”

Some hospitals and doctors have claimed that pro-life laws keep them from being able to perform abortive procedures when the pregnant woman’s life is in danger. However, pro-life laws are carefully worded to allow for abortive procedures in cases of medical emergencies like life-threatening conditions or bodily harm to the mother. See question #3 for the exact text of the current law.

Yes. We should never approve a state constitutional amendment that allows for the killing of innocent people with no medical justification just because it also includes things that we like. Amendment 3 offers no meaningful protections or benefits for reproductive health that are not already provided for under Missouri law except the ability to abort a child at any time in the pregnancy, provided the term “mental health” is used in the justification. Even if it did have some helpful benefits, or if the current law needed revision for clarity or additional protections, the moral choice would be to bring those revisions for a vote, not package them with an abortion amendment that goes much farther than Roe v. Wade did.

The good news from the Bible is that our past mistakes do not define or condemn us when we trust in Jesus. God loves you and offers forgiveness and healing.