51ºÚÁÏ

House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, at a Kansas City-area candidates forum on Wednesday, said, “I don’t think an abortion ban works. I don’t think it’s working for Missouri.�

He quickly added he didn’t think he could support Amendment 3 on the Nov. 5 ballot, which would overturn the ban. Missouri’s law prohibits abortions with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Patterson later clarified he meant a “total ban� doesn’t work, and the Missouri Independent that Missourians wanted compromise.

At the candidate forum hosted by the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, Patterson also addressed possible attempts to overturn Amendment 3 if voters do approve it.

“We should respect the will of the people and we will,� he said. That represented a strong break with Republican efforts already in the works to place another abortion question on the ballot if voters approve Amendment 3.

Patterson said, “It’ll be the law of the land and we have to go forward as the people decide.�

State Rep. Justin Sparks of Wildwood, a member of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, sharply criticized Patterson on Friday.

“I don’t think Jon Patterson sounds very much like a Republican,� Sparks said in a text message. “I think the abortion ban is working out great for unborn babies.�

Sparks then accused Patterson of stopping lawmaker efforts “to bring alternatives to the people.�

“Jon threatened other Republicans to not even speak about this in caucus,� Sparks said. “There were efforts by me and others to give voters a choice of what limits they wanted.�

He added that “polling shows overwhelming support for at least some restrictions with exceptions.�

This year, Sparks sponsored a resolution that would have asked voters to enshrine the state’s near-total ban on abortion. The measure never came up for a vote on the House floor and died at the end of session in May.

Sparks represents a deep-red west 51ºÚÁÏ County district, and is considered one of the most conservative members of the House. But Patterson is locked in a tight reelection battle with Democrat Kevin Grover for the competitive Lee’s Summit-based 30th District.

Republicans are also trying to pull off victories in other competitive suburban districts, with Democrats zeroing in on the abortion ban they argue is too extreme.

Patterson’s position could put him at odds with lawmakers such as state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who told the Missouri Independent last month that Amendment 3 is not “the end all be all.�

“I think you will see efforts, win or lose, for Missourians to get another say in this,� Coleman said in September. She did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Voters are facing a deluge of information for and against Amendment 3.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the pro-Amendment 3 campaign, spent $5.5 million in the most recent fundraising quarter. It had nearly $11 million on-hand heading into the final full month of the campaign after raising $21.8 million through September.

The campaign has received an additional $8.7 million this month in large donations — bringing the total raised for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom to more than $30 million.

More than a third of that came from three dark-money progressive organizations: the Sixteen Thirty Fund ($4.6 million), the Fairness Project ($4.6 million), and Our American Future ($4.2 million).

The ACLU has given $2.3 million and Planned Parenthood has given $3.2 million. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, has given $1.5 million to the effort.

Various groups have emerged to oppose Amendment 3. The group Vote No on 3 has taken in $630,000 in large donations this week from seven donors, records show.

The Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee reported spending $572,000 through the end of September to oppose Amendment 3.

Various Catholic groups have made independent expenditures to defeat Amendment 3. The Archdiocese of 51ºÚÁÏ, for example, spent $15,000 on Oct. 17 for printing of yard signs, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission.