Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft criticized Monday’s court ruling regarding proposed ballot language which his office wrote relating to abortion initiatives filed with the secretary of state’s office.

In a media statement, Ashcroft said:

“We will not stand idly by while the courts hide the effects of this amendment and mislead the people as to what they may very well be voting on next year.

While the court may pretend this does not allow ‘dangerous, unregulated, unrestricted’ abortions, it is clear that under this initiative petition, individuals like Kermit Gosnell, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for killing a mother and 3 children, would be free from prosecution.

Additionally, this court’s language misleads the people into believing that initiative petitions 2024-085 and 087 would amend the constitution to ‘declare government funding of abortion is not required’ which is categorically false.”