Why ‘viability’ is dividing the abortion rights movement

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A divide between abortion-rights activists over whether to include restrictions regarding the viability of the fetus on planned state ballot measures is roiling the movement. Advocates say the fight has resurfaced long-brewing ruptures among reproductive rights advocates, especially in Republican-leaning or closely divided states. Some worry that failing to include such limits will sink their chances of passing abortion protections. The conflict has been especially divisive in Missouri, where conflicting strategies are complicating efforts to push ahead with a ballot measure in a state with one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans.