‘Decline to sign’ campaigns surge in states where abortion could be on the ballot

• Arkansas —  Stronger Arkansas opposes abortion, education and marijuana petitions whose leaders are affiliated with Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Arkansas Advocate reported that the state Right to Life group is also encouraging residents to decline to sign an abortion-rights petition, which could allow abortion up to 18 weeks of fertilization or later for rape, incest, fetal anomalies or to protect a “female patient from physical disorder, physical illness or physical injury.” Abortion is illegal in the state unless there’s a medical emergency.
• Arizona — The It Goes Too Far campaign launched in January to encourage residents to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would restore abortion access up to fetal viability and beyond to protect a patient’s life or health, Arizona Mirror reported.  The Center for Arizona Policy, which opposes abortion, backs the counter-effort.  Amidst uncertainty over the state’s abortion laws following a high court ruling that upheld an 1864 near-total abortion ban — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation Friday striking the law down — organizers behind the abortion rights petition have collected more than 500,000 signatures.
• Missouri — A group called Missouri Stands with Women led the “decline to sign” campaign in the state, where all abortions are illegal, save in the case of a medical emergency. Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which is pushing a fetal viability petition bid with exceptions, just submitted more than 400,000 signatures for the effort. Abortion rights opponents at the Midwest March for Life rally last month told Missouri Independent they’ll file open records requests to get copies of the signatures and probe the petitions. There have been some 140 requests for signatures withdrawals so far, per the Independent.
• Nebraska — The Protect Women and Children Constitutional Amendment, launched in March, would ban abortion after the first trimester with exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, according to Nebraska Examiner. But the state already has a similar ban in place that the legislature enacted last spring. Still, Nebraska’s major anti-abortion groups and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America endorsed the new petition. Meanwhile, Protect Our Rights is circulating a petition that would allow abortion up to fetal viability with exceptions in certain circumstances.
• Nevada — A few weeks ago, the state Supreme Court ruled that an abortion-rights petition could move forward, Nevada Current reported. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom initially crafted a broader initiative that was rejected by a judge after anti-abortion group Coalition for Parents and Children PAC sued over the petition. The approved, truncated version would allow for government interference after fetal viability but allow the procedure later in pregnancy to preserve a patient’s life or their physical or mental health.
• South Dakota — Republican Gov. Kristi Noem signed legislation in March that lets residents withdraw their signatures from petitions, South Dakota Searchlight reported. GOP Rep. Jon Hansen sponsored that proposal. Hansen is also the co–chair of the Life Defense Fund, the group leading a “decline to sign” effort against a petition that would allow abortion up until the first trimester. The Fund has a signature withdrawal form readily available on their website and funds another site called Take Off My Name.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect the number of states where abortion will be on up the November ballot. A New York judge blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday, citing a procedural issue.