Missouri voters have rejected Amendment 3, an effort to explicitly ban abortion in the state's constitution, marking the second time in two years that the state's residents have voted to protect abortion access. The Associated Press projected the outcome Tuesday night.
Amendment 3, put before voters by the state's Republican-controlled legislature, would have made Missouri the first state to constitutionally ban abortion. This proposed amendment followed a referendum voters passed in 2024 that established broader protections for reproductive care. With 95% of votes counted, the amendment was losing by more than 200,000 votes.
A significant portion of the campaign for Amendment 3 focused on a prohibition of gender-affirming care for minors, an issue already banned by state law but not constitutionally. Opponents of the amendment labeled this campaigning as misleading, noting that polls indicated less public support for transgender healthcare access compared to abortion access. A recent survey found that while 59% of Missourians supported abortion access up to eight weeks of gestation, 66% opposed hormone therapy or puberty blockers for minors, and 72% opposed gender-affirming surgeries for them.
Proponents of abortion access celebrated the vote's outcome. Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, stated that voters demonstrated they "cannot be fooled by politicians determined to override the will of the people." Michelle Trupiano, executive director of Beacon Reproductive Health Network, praised voters for continuing to support abortion access, emphasizing the freedom to make personal healthcare decisions.
Campaigners for the "No on 3" effort reported significant outreach, including knocking on over 220,000 doors and making nearly 100,000 calls. Katy Erker-Lynch, executive director of PROMO, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, highlighted that many of their canvassers were transgender, sending a message that "our bodies, our health care, and our families are not yours to control."
Amendment 3 included exceptions for medical emergencies or fetal anomalies, though such provisions have historically struggled to protect patients. It also proposed exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest within the first 12 weeks of gestation. Missouri joins other states, including Kansas, Ohio, and Arizona, where voters have codified abortion protections since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.