Republican AGs Attempt To Block Deceptive Abortion Ballot

Attorney generals in red states are working against ambiguities and euphemisms in abortion measures in the works in their states in order to avoid deceptive language.

Red state AGs move to block abortion ballot language pro-life group says is 'deceptive,' goes farther than Roe https://t.co/qiJ5TShCZy

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody recently rejected a pro-abortion amendment measure, calling it “one of the worst I have ever seen.”

According to her, the measure is misleading. One of the things Moody took issue with is that “creates a right to abortion through ‘viability.’”

“As any mother knows, ‘viability’ has two meanings when it comes to pregnancy. First, it means whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally through delivery. Doctors can tell during the first trimester, usually around about 12 weeks, whether a pregnancy is viable and would have a much lower risk of miscarriage. For that reason, many women often wait to tell family and friends about their pregnancy until that time,” she explained.

The Republican attorney general further explained that viability can also be “used to mean whether a baby can survive outside of the uterus, which currently is around 21 to 25 weeks of pregnancy.”

“The two time periods, depending on your definition of viability, are starkly different, and the procedures performed to abort a baby’s life at either time period are dissimilar,” she added.

Moody disagrees with the wording in the initiative and insists that Floridians have the right to know clearly what they are voting for.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin says a proposed abortion ballot in the state had a deceptive title and text filled with ambiguities. The measure, which Griffin rejected, is titled in a deceptive manner and does not adequately clarify the meanings of the words “access” and “health.”

South Dakota AG Jackley’s issue with a recent abortion proposal is premised on the wording too, as the proposal states that “any suggestion that your proposed abortion amendment makes abortion legal only for the first trimester is contrary to the language of the proposed amendment.”

The attorney generals’ reservations on the ballot measures come after one was successful in Ohio last month. Ohioans had voted to enshrine abortion access into the state’s constitution. But according to pro-life groups, the success of the measure was largely due to vague language and misleading ads from pro-abortion advocates.