Red state AGs move to block abortion ballot language pro-life group says is 'deceptive,' goes farther than Roe

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After a successful abortion ballot measure in Ohio that enshrined abortion access into the state’s constitution, attorney generals in red states are making moves to address ambiguities and euphemisms in upcoming abortion measures in their states to avoid deceptive language, an issue that pro-life groups say was critical in the Ohio vote.

In Arkansas, Attorney General Tim Griffin recently rejected a proposed abortion ballot that he said had a deceptive title and misleading text. 

Griffin outlined concerns about "ambiguities in the text", not enough clarity on the meanings of the words "health" and "access," the potentially deceptive name of the ballot measure, and other facts that he says need to be addressed and resubmitted.

In Florida, Republican AG Ashley Moody recently called a pro-abortion amendment initiative that made it to her desk "one of the worst I have ever seen."

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Protesters shout as they join thousands marching around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

"As just one example of how misleading this initiative is, the initiative creates a right to abortion through ‘viability,’" Moody wrote. "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."

"Second, viability is sometimes 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."

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Abortion rights adovcates gather in front of the J Marvin Jones Federal Building and Courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, on March 15, 2023. (MOISES AVILA/AFP via Getty Images)

Moody wrote that regardless of her own personal opinion on abortion, "Floridians are entitled to know clearly and concisely what they are voting for or against."

South Dakota AG Jackley also took issue with the wording in a recent abortion proposal writing 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 comments by the three Republican attorney generals come after Ohioans voted to enshrine abortion access into their constitution in a vote that pro-life groups say was swayed by misleading ads from the abortion industry and vague language that they say goes even farther than Roe v. Wade did.

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"Deception is the common theme in every abortion ballot measure," SBA Pro-Life America’s state public affairs director Kelsey Pritchard said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Abortion activists have repeatedly used unclear language to mislead voters into embedding unlimited abortion in their state constitutions. Because Americans do not support second- and third-trimester abortions, Big Abortion must funnel millions into ads that lie about what these amendments actually do in order to be successful."

"We thank Tim Griffin, Ashley Moody and Marty Jackley for exposing abortion activists’ deceptive tactics. These attorneys general are faithfully carrying out their duties as they push for clarity so that voters are aware they are voting on establishing a right to late-term abortion." 

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An attendee holds a rosary as she prays during a "rosary rally" on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, in Norwood, Ohio. ((AP Photo/Darron Cummings))

Many consider the Ohio ballot measure to be a blueprint for how the abortion industry plans to pass state level abortion laws in the wake of Roe v. Wade and SBA Vice President of State Affairs Stephen Billy told Fox News Digital that "it's clear that pro-life leaders, including the attorney generals in the pro-life states, recognize the threat when these deceptive ballot measures, these deceptive amendments land on the ballot.

"They're taking action early now to fight back against it and to make sure there's clarity for the voters in their states about how radical these amendments are allowing abortion basically without restriction and deteriorating parental rights."