Judge orders Missouri abortion ballot language to be rewritten a second time

A judge has ordered the Missouri Secretary of State to rewrite a ballot initiative — which is seeking to overturn Amendment 4, which made abortion a constitutional "right" in the state — for the second time.

Key Takeaways:

• Amendment 3 was approved by voters in 2024, making abortion a constitutional 'right' in the state.

• Missouri lawmakers have since advanced a ballot initiative which would overturn Amendment 3.

• The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot initiative.

• A judge previously ordered the ballot to be rewritten, which it was; however, the rewritten version was still deemed unacceptable.

The Details:

Last month, Cole County Judge Daniel Green ordered Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to rewrite ballot language for an initiative that will be available for voters in 2026. He ruled that the language "fails to adequately alert voters that the proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate [the 2024 abortion rights amendment], which voters recently approved."

KCUR reported:

Hoskins rewrote the ballot language prepared by Republican lawmakers after Green ruled it, also, did not alert voters that it would repeal the voter-approved amendment....

On Wednesday, Green ruled that Hoskins also missed the mark by failing to inform voters of the repeal, taking issue with just one bullet point in Hoskins’ summary that reads

“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

Amend Article I, section 36, approved in 2024; allowing abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;”

This summary “fails to adequately alert voters that the proposed constitutional amendment would abrogate Article 1, Section 36 of the Missouri Constitution, which voters recently approved,” Green wrote.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s Office in briefings submitted Monday said Hoskins’ latest language was sufficient because it stated the new amendment would cause a “modification” of state statute and that repeal language would be inaccurate because the new amendment “does not abolish all the constitutional rights first enshrined in Article I, section 36,” including the right to miscarriage care.

For example, the attorney general wrote, the new amendment “recognizes a right to abortion in some cases, and such a right was unprecedented in the Missouri Constitution before the voters enacted Article I, section 36 in 2024.”

Under Missouri law, there are three allowed attempts to submit ballot language that the state finds acceptable. If the judge believes it has failed a third time, he will rewrite it himself.

The Backstory:

Amendment 3 took effect one month after being approved by voters.

Despite this, laws governing the safety of abortion in Missouri remained in place; these included a 72-hour waiting period, an informed consent requirement (which includes an ultrasound), and a requirement that the same abortionist who initially saw the patient for the consultation committed the abortion.

There were additional safety standards, which...

• required abortion businesses to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.

• required abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.

• required all abortion facilities to be located within 30 miles of a hospital.

• required all pregnancy tissue and body parts to be submitted to a pathologist.

Planned Parenthood sued to have these safety standards overturned, which launched a series of court battles. The Missouri Supreme Court initially ruled the safety requirements must be kept in place while a lower court judge reconsidered her ruling, which had placed an injunction against them.

Judge Jerri Zhang ultimately chose to reissue her injunction this summer, and as the Missouri Supreme Court refused to step in for a second time, it seems her ruling will be permanent.

Planned Parenthood has since resumed committing abortions in the state.

The Bottom Line:

Voters deserve to have the chance to reaffirm their commitment to protecting all human life, from conception to natural death.