From the Desk of Deacon Dave, O.F.S.

 Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

 May the Lord give you His peace!

 Protect Life! Pray for the Defeat of Amendment 3!

 Petitions to put abortion rights on the ballot in Missouri and Arizona were officially approved last week, adding to a growing list of states where so-called “reproductive rights” will be put before the voters at the General Elections on November 5^th of this year. Both ballot measures would amend their respective state’s constitutions to enshrine the right to an abortion after the United States Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, prompting state-by-state action on the issue.

In Missouri, supporters of abortion rights have been pushing to amend the state constitution to allow abortion in the state, where a near-total ban is currently in place. To qualify for the ballot, roughly 170,000 signatures from six out of eight congressional districts were required. On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified that the petition had enough support to appear on the ballot.

The Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) is the public policy agency of the Catholic Church in Missouri headed by the Catholic Bishops of Missouri. The MCC, which promotes the common good by advocating for public policy that upholds the sanctity and dignity of all human life, issued the following press release immediately after Secretary Ashcroft certified the pro-abortion Amendment 3 petition:

August 13, 2024, JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Amendment 3, which will appear on Missouri’s November 2024 ballot, is an extreme constitutional amendment that legalizes abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no protections for the preborn child, even when the child is capable of feeling pain. The amendment would effectively repeal long-standing health and safety standards for women. These include basic health and safety requirements for clinics where abortions are performed, requiring that abortions be performed only by a physician, informed consent requirements, laws prohibiting public funding of abortion, and parental consent requirements before a minor’s abortion. 

The Missouri Catholic Conference will be working to inform the public about this deceptively worded amendment. We urge all Missourians of good will to stand for the health and safety of women and their preborn children and oppose Amendment 3.

 It is vital that we as Catholic citizens of the state of Missouri be well informed about this issue and that we exercise our right to vote on a matter of such dire consequence for the protection of human life at the very beginning of its existence. In the meantime we are encouraged to pray fervently for the defeat of Amendment 3 on November 5^th. The Respect Life Apostolate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis has published a prayer to defeat the Missouri Pro-Abortion Ballot Initiative which is available on the MCC website (MOCatholic.org) and which will be featured in our parish bulletin each week until the November election.

 With a brother’s love in the Lord and Mary Immaculate,

 Deacon Dave, O.F.S.
T    In Persona Christi Servi