ACLU seeks to pressure Ashcroft to process abortion petition

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The American Civil Liberties Union is trying to increase pressure on Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to process petitions allowing the organization to begin collecting signatures to put a law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy to a public vote.

Tony Rothert, executive director of ACLU of Missouri, said Thursday the group act as soon as next week to encourage people to call Ashcroft's office to pressure him to process the petition.

The ACLU must collect more than 100,000 signatures by Aug. 28 to put the law on hold until a public vote in 2020.

Rothert said the concern is Ashcroft will wait so long it will be almost impossible to meet that deadline.

Ashcroft's spokeswoman, Maura Browning, said the office is following the process described in statute.