Judge orders rewriting of Missouri ballot initiative to undo abortion amendment

A ballot initiative to overturn Amendment 3, which made abortion a constitutional “right” in the state, must be rewritten, according to a judge's ruling.

Key Takeaways:

• In 2024, Missouri voters approved Amendment 3, which struck down the state's laws protecting preborn children from abortion and made abortion a constitutional 'right' in the state.

• Earlier this year, lawmakers advanced a ballot initiative overturning Amendment 3 and again protecting most preborn children from abortion.

• The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot in defense of Amendment 3.

• A judge has ruled that the language on the ballot must be rewritten to clarify what the amendment would undo.

The Details:

On Friday, Cole County Judge Daniel Green ruled that while the ballot initiative can still be made available for voters in 2026, the language must be changed. However, he ruled against abortion advocates who requested for the initiative to be blocked completely.

Green wrote that the language "fails to adequately alert voters that the proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate [the 2024 abortion rights amendment], which voters recently approved."

It is true that the ballot language does not explicitly mention Amendment 3. But it does make it clear that the initiative would protect most preborn children from abortion:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

• Guarantee access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages;

• Ensure women’s safety during abortions;

• Ensure parental consent for minors;

• Allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;

• Require physicians to provide medically accurate information; and

• Protect children from gender transition?

• State governmental entities estimate no costs or savings. Greene County estimates it may experience an unknown increase in tax revenue. Other local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

Fair Ballot Language:

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to allow abortion in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest, with a twelve-week gestational limit for rape or incest; require physicians to provide medically accurate information; require informed and voluntary consent, including parental or judicial consent for minors; authorize laws to regulate abortion providers and facilities to ensure health and safety; prohibit public funding of abortions except in limited circumstances; guarantee access to care for ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and medical emergencies; and protect children from gender transition by prohibiting certain medical procedures and medications for minors, with exceptions for specific medical conditions.

A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution to allow abortion in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest, or to protect children from gender transition.

If passed, this measure will not increase or decrease taxes.

Rep. Brian Seitz, one of the legislators who backed this ballot measure, told ABC News he didn't have a problem with the judge's ruling. “I think we would be fine with that, because we do want the Missouri voters to know what they are voting on,” he said, referring to simply changing the wording.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway likewise applauded the ruling, saying Green upheld the overall constitutionality of the ballot.

The Backstory:

After voters approved Amendment 3 in November of 2024, it took effect one month later, allowing abortions to be committed again in Missouri. Under the amendment, abortion is permitted through all nine months of pregnancy, with the language reading:

 “the right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the government demonstrates that such action is justifiable by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means”

But Missouri still had safety laws regarding abortion in place, and Planned Parenthood sued to have those laws overturned before they would begin committing abortions again.

These laws included a 72-hour waiting period, an informed consent requirement (which included an ultrasound), a requirement for abortion businesses to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers, a requirement for abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and a requirement for all abortion facilities to be located within 30 miles of a hospital. The state also required all pregnancy tissue and body parts to be submitted to a pathologist, and required that the same doctor who initially saw the patient must be the one to commit the abortion.

These laws set off an avalanche of court battles, advancing to the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled the safety requirements must be kept in place while the lower court judge reconsidered her ruling.

That judge, Jerri Zhang, ultimately reissued her injunction against the safety laws this summer, and this time, the Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear the case again.

The Bottom Line:

Missouri has been a pro-life state, protecting preborn children from abortion since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The authors of this ballot initiative hopes to give voters the chance to make it a pro-life state once again.