Missouri is poised to legalize abortion after voters Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment designed to overturn one of the most restrictive bans in the nation.
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Amendment 3 places language in the Missouri Constitution legalizing abortion up to fetal viability, which is usually around 24 weeks.
Now that the amendment passed, abortion rights proponents plan to file lawsuits to strike down the state’s near-total ban.
Some Missouri lawmakers have said they may try to place another measure on the ballot to either weaken or repeal Amendment 3. But some Republicans, including incoming House Speaker Jon Patterson, have said they don’t support that type of plan.
Missouri made most abortions illegal after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. The current law makes no exceptions for women who become pregnant because of rape or incest — only medical emergencies.
Passage of the amendment is a huge loss for Missouri Republicans who made opposition to abortion rights a central part of their agenda since they took over the General Assembly in the early 2000s.
Abortion rights proponents in Missouri faced a long road to Tuesday’s victory. They had to slog through a number of lawsuits over Amendment 3’s cost estimate and ballot summary language. After thousands of volunteers helped gather enough signatures, the proposal nearly was struck from the ballot before the Missouri Supreme Court allowed it on a 4-3 vote.
Abortion rights backers also had to deal with a failed effort from Missouri legislators to place a separate ballot item before voters to make the Missouri Constitution harder to amend — which was aimed at preventing the abortion legalization measure from passing.
A campaign committee supporting Amendment 3 ended up raising more than $30 million and galvanizing abortion rights backers particularly in suburban areas. Public polling also showed that the plan had support from a minority of Republican respondents, which was a sign that the near-total ban wasn’t universally popular.
“I have family members who have always been in that group, and now they're like: This is just too far, too much,” said Richmond Heights resident Katrina Dalbey. “There's so much of a gray area when it comes to abortion. Just picking one side and doubling down on it is not what we see as strong leadership and pro-life.”
While the “no” side was heavily outspent, it did get a last-minute cash infusion — including a $1 million donation from a group linked to conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. Abortion rights opponents sought to rally the state’s religious voters who feel that the procedure is morally wrong.
They also sought to point out what they felt could be unintended consequences of Amendment 3, including allowing for abortions late in pregnancy and expanding gender-affirming care for minors.
“There are lots of provisions within this that would be enshrined into our constitution that I think are causing lots of Missourians very real concerns,” said Stephanie Bell with the anti-Amendment 3 group Missouri Stands with Women.
Amendment 3 backers said those types of arguments were misleading scare tactics. They also cast serious doubt that judges would interpret the measure to legalize things like gender transition surgery for minors.
Amendment 7
Tonight, Missouri voters approved Amendment 7 by 52.7% with 89% of ballots counted, which adds a constitutional provision that prevents ranked choice voting. Additionally, there is a redundant provision in the ballot language that says non-citizens can’t vote in a Missouri election – which is already illegal federally and in Missouri.
With its passage, ranked choice voting is now outlawed at a state level, with a carve out for certain non-partisan municipal elections in St. Louis.
Amendment 6
Tonight, Missourians rejected Amendment 6 by 60.5% with 97% of ballots counted, which would have reinstated a $3 dollar court fee to criminal and traffic cases that goes toward the sheriff’s retirement fund.
The rejected fee was in place since 1983, until a 2021 Missouri Supreme Court case ruled it was unconstitutional. Before it was overturned, the fee generated over $2.1 million for the fund.
With its failure, it is likely the state legislature will look for another way to fund the sheriff’s retirement fund.
Amendment 5
Tonight, Missouri voters also are projected to have rejected Amendment 5 by about 70,000 votes with 20 precincts left to be counted. The Amendment would have added an additional gambling boat license to the state’s 13-license limit and would have paved the way for a casino to be built in the Lake of the Ozarks.
The failure of the amendment means that the cap of gambling boat licenses in the state will remain at 13, and the regulations will remain not as permissive to a casino in the area.
Despite its failure there may soon still be a casino in the area - the Osage Nation has said that it's interested in opening a casino in the area.
