Conservatives have once again turned to the courts to keep people from voting on reproductive rights. Missouri and Nebraska were set to be among the 10 states where voters will weigh in directly on abortion rights, but anti-abortion groups have gone to court to block either one from moving forward. The conservative Missouri Supreme Court rejected this gambit earlier this week, while a ruling from the Nebraska Supreme Court is expected soon. But whatever happens, it’s worth paying attention to the strategy in these cases: a kind of heads-I-win-tails-you-lose plan that either blocks voters from deciding about abortion rights or confuses the electorate about what is being decided.

A group of anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers had sued Missouri Attorney General Jay Ashcroft for having certified the ballot measure. Nebraska’s high court is considering two suits, one filed by a neonatologist opposed to abortion, a second by an Omaha resident.

The anti-abortion plaintiffs in both states made arguments aimed not just at courts but at voters. Mostly, they relied on what’s called a single-subject requirement for state initiatives. Like many states, Missouri and Nebraska have rules requiring that ballot measures address only a single topic. The rationale for the rule is simple: Voters should know what they are approving, and social movements shouldn’t be able to hide unpopular proposals behind vague language in ballot measures with wide support.

The anti-abortion plaintiffs argued that Missouri’s Amendment 3, which protects the right to make decisions about reproductive health care, covers more than one subject. Why? The plaintiffs claimed that reproductive health care........

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