Missouri Voters Again Reject Bid to Restore Abortion Ban, Keeping It Legal

Missouri voters have rejected a proposal that would have banned abortion in the state constitution. The measure, known as Amendment 3, would have written the ban into the constitution; its defeat keeps abortion legal in the state. The Associated Press called the result.

The vote reaffirms the decision Missouri voters took in 2024, when they lifted one of the country's strictest abortion bans. Just two years later, voters have again ruled against a ban on the same question.

The proposal had been placed on the ballot by the Republican-led state legislature. Had it passed, it would have banned abortion except in cases of rape and incest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or for longer in cases of fetal anomalies.

Its defeat was a major victory for the state's abortion rights supporters. It maintains Missouri's current law, which allows abortion until fetal viability, though there are restrictions on how abortions are performed.

Missouri was one of four states that had abortion on the ballot in this election. Since the Supreme Court struck down federal protections for abortion rights in 2022, abortion law has become a state-by-state patchwork across the country.

The defeat also sent a message of voter support for transgender rights. After losing on an abortion ban two years ago, abortion opponents coupled this proposal in a single question with a ban on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for minors.

Gender-affirming care for minors is already banned in Missouri through statute, though the prohibitions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy expire in 2027.

Prominent Republican leaders, including Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, raised money and campaigned to pass the ban. But many of the advertisements supporting the proposal did not mention abortion at all, focusing instead on the gender-affirming care ban. Opponents of abortion rights defended the strategy, contending that part of the initiative was popular with voters.

Republican state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick had said, 'I think that the abortion issue is much closer to a 50/50 issue in the state, as is evidenced by what happened in 2024. Whereas the issue of trans medical [procedures] is probably more like an 80/20 issue.'

Abortion rights proponents saw the focus on gender-affirming care as an attempt at misdirection. They also held the monetary advantage: the campaign committee working to defeat Amendment 3 received more than $26 million in donations of $5,000 or more since the beginning of the year, compared with around $6.7 million in large donations for the campaign trying to pass the ban.