Missouri voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have banned abortion in the state constitution. The vote keeps abortion legal. Much of the campaign for the amendment focused on a provision that would have also added a constitutional amendment banning transgender treatment for minors, which is already illegal in the state although the law expires next year.
Jason Rosenbaum/St. Louis Public Radio
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Jason Rosenbaum/St. Louis Public Radio
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St. Louis, MO – Missouri voters have rejected a proposal to ban abortion, according to a race call by The Associated Press. It reaffirms the vote won in 2024 that lifted one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans.
The proposal was put to a vote by the Republican-led Legislature and would have banned abortion except in cases of rape and incest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy or longer in cases of fetal abnormalities.
Her defeat was a major victory for abortion rights supporters in the state. It maintains current state law, authorize abortion until fetal viabilityalthough there are restrictions on how they are performed.
Missouri is one of four states that put abortion on the ballot. Since the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights protections 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 the abortion ban two years ago, abortion opponents paired the single-issue proposal with bans on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for minors.
Prominent Republican leaders, including Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, raised funds and campaigned to pass abortion ban. But many ads supporting the proposal did not mention abortion but focused on banning gender-affirming care. Opponents of abortion rights have defended the strategy, saying part of the initiative was popular with voters.
“I think the abortion issue is much closer to a 50/50 issue in the state, as evidenced by what happened in 2024,” Republican Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said. “Whereas the issue of trans medical (procedures) is probably more of an 80/20 issue.”
Proponents of abortion rights saw the emphasis on gender-affirming care as an attempt at misdirection. They also emphasized that gender-affirming care for minors is already banned in Missouri by lawalthough bans on puberty blockers and hormone therapy expire in 2027.
The campaign committee that sought to reject the proposal, called Amendment 3, also had a monetary advantage. He has received more than $26 million in donations of $5,000 or more since the start of the year, compared to about $6.7 million in large donations to the campaign to pass the abortion ban.
Jason Rosenbaum covers politics for St. Louis Public Radio.
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