Kansas City, MO – A group fighting to cancel Missouri’s almost complete ban on abortion shared that they’ve pulled in over $3 million since starting their campaign last month. They’re now busy collecting signatures to get a statewide vote going.
This group, named Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, is pushing for a change that would protect abortion rights in the state’s constitution. However, it would still allow government officials to set rules on abortions after the fetus can survive outside the womb. They shared on Friday that they’ve gotten donations from about 2,200 different people.
“The outpouring of support that we are seeing from Missourians to join the campaign by volunteering, donating, and staying informed confirms what we already knew – Missourians are ready to fight back against political overreach and end Missouri’s abortion ban,” Mallory Schwarz, the executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, a coalition member, said in a statement.
They’ve gotten big donations from groups across the country, including $1 million from Sixteen Thirty Fund and $500,000 from The Fairness Project, both based in Washington, D.C. Part of their funds also came from within the coalition, like $100,000 from Abortion Action Missouri, another $100,000 from the ACLU of Missouri, and $75,000 from Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
On the other side, a group against this campaign, Missouri Stands with Women, hasn’t reported getting as many large donations. They’ve said they got a bit over $40,000 in big donations since the middle of January, with one donation of $5,001 coming from the Missouri Catholic Conference.
This week, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom announced over 5,000 volunteers have joined them. They’re starting to gather signatures and are planning events in several cities including Kansas City and St. Louis to do this. They need over 170,000 signatures by May 5 to get their proposal on the voting ballot. They think it will cost about $5 million to gather all these signatures.
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Schwarz emphasized that what they are doing is going to be a long effort – it’s not something they can do quickly. Winning the right to make our own choices about our reproductive health will need ongoing support from people in Missouri.
