JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Democrats are facing a conversation about their abortion-rights stance after the party recently adopted an amendment aimed at welcoming anti-abortion candidates.
The party added an amendment to its platform June 30 stating it welcomes “all Missourians who may hold differing positions on (abortion)” and sees diversified views as its strength, the Kansas City Star reported .
The amendment came as the recently announced retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy opens the possibility that the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion could be overturned. It also came amid Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s signing of a state budget that defunds Planned Parenthood.
“There’s really good reasons to be frustrated and angry and concerned right now,” said Stephen Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party. “But the bottom line is the Democratic Party fights to empower women to make their own reproductive decisions, and that’s never going to change.”
The Democratic Party has struggled to clarify its stance on abortion as it works to win back elected offices in Republican-dominated areas.
“We are losing votes because people think you can’t possibly be a Democrat and be pro-life,” said Joan Barry, a former Democratic lawmaker from St. Louis County who proposed the amendment. “We are tired of being second-class citizens in our party. We just want to know we are accepted in the party under our broad umbrella.”
St. Louis Alderwoman Annie Rice said she’s fine with a personal objection to abortion but concerned with how candidates will vote once elected.
The amendment is another example of the party “conceding that reproductive health is just a social issue and isn’t an economic issue for women all over the state,” she said. “If we don’t talk about how contraception and access to abortion allows women to fully participate in the economy, if we don’t lead, we’re never going to educate people.”
