Volunteers with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom collect signatures in support of an amendment to legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability in Missouri, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Kansas City (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).

Efforts to legalize abortion in Missouri have brought in nearly 10 times more than political action committees seeking to end it.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the Campaign Behind Amendment 3which would legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability, has raised more than $30.9 million since launching his campaign in 2023, according to fundraising reports filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission .

That includes about $9 million since Oct. 1, most of which came from out-of-state groups that are not required to disclose their donors.

A half-dozen PACs urging Missourians to vote against Amendment 3 have collectively raised about $3.2 million.

This follows a trend seen in other states where abortion has been on the ballot: efforts to legalize or protect the procedure often outweigh efforts to stop it, including in Ohiowhere a similar measure won with more than 56% of the vote.

But Missouri is a particularly striking example of abortion rights groups vastly outspending the opposition.

One reason could be that less money is coming from the Catholic Church than in previous campaigns. A recent analysis by NPR and Religion News Service found that U.S. bishops have given far less this year to fight anti-abortion measures than in 2022 and 2023.

While Catholic churches in Kansas have spent nearly $4 million to fight a 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, Missouri dioceses have only invested about $30,000 in the Missouri fight, according to the media.

To bridge the gap, some churchgoers are going door to door to oppose the amendment.

“We pray for your help in this fight against Amendment 3,” said Eric Holder, a volunteer with the local Knights of Columbus, prayed out loud in early October before canvassing in Independence. “We are like David facing Goliath. We pray that you are with us.

He bowed his head alongside a half-dozen other knights outside St. Mary’s Catholic Church before heading out to hang “vote no” flyers on about 1,000 doors.

Holder said he became passionate about ending abortion after converting to Catholicism about 30 years ago and participating in the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. It was motivated in part by a parent with an unplanned pregnancy who was considering an abortion before visiting a pregnancy resource center. center in Kansas City where she was encouraged to keep her baby.

“Missouri could suddenly become one of the worst states in the Union for abortion,” Holder said, fearing “degradation of the family” and a shift toward a “pro-death” culture.

In the interview, Holder lamented the lack of television ads broadcast from a “vote no” perspective. Fighting the amendment, he said, was like “throwing a pebble into a raging ocean.”

But that changed in the weeks that followed, when the first ads ran on television and radio opposing the amendment.

A virtual rally held last week brought together several big names against the amendment, many of whom urged viewers to donate to support the purchase of TV ads.

Hosts of the rally, which included the participation of Missouri Governor Mike Parson and conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly, called on viewers to donate to fund the airing of ads in the 11 days leading up to the election.

“We need to invest in this fight to get the messages out to people,” said David Bereit, founder of 40 Days for Life.

A number of people followed Bereit’s advice.

As of Monday, groups opposed to Amendment 3 spent about $545,000 on radio and television ads.

Nearly $442,000 of that total has been purchased since Thursday, the day of the rally.

More than half of that spending went on television ads purchased by the Vitae Foundation, an anti-abortion research organization based in Missouri. The group’s president was among those who spoke at Thursday’s rally, asking for contributions for television ads. The Vitae Foundation is not registered as a Missouri PAC and therefore has not reported its donors or expenses as required by PACS.

The foundation’s ads do not specifically name Amendment 3, but instead focus on abortion broadly, encouraging viewers to “think about it.”

Need to contact us?

Do you have a current tip?

CONTACT US

But spending on anti-abortion ads remains well below spending on digital and television ads encouraging Missourians to “vote yes.”

As of Monday, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom spent nearly $10.4 million on television ads and about $22,000 on radio ads, more than twenty times what the opposition invested.

The campaign has enjoyed widespread support since its launch. More than 380,000 Missourians signed an initiative petition to put the amendment on the ballot, and most Democratic candidates campaigned on their support for Amendment 3. More than 500 doctors and more than 300 other health professionals also signed a letter of support to Amendment 3.

No-excuse absentee voting in Missouri began on October 22. Kansas City And St. Louis are already reporting significant anticipated voter turnout ahead of the November 5 general election.

A recent Emerson College survey found that 58% of respondents support Amendment 3, and 30% oppose it. Most recent SLU/YouGov survey found that 52% supported the amendment and 34% opposed it.

Rudi Keller of The Independent contributed reporting.