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An abortion-through-all-nine-months constitutional modification in Missouri appears to have met its match after the Show Me State senate passed a resolution to add an amendment effectively banning abortion to the November 2026 ballot.
Missourians narrowly voted in November to enshrine abortion activists’ extreme Amendment 3 in their state constitution. House Joint Resolution 73 seeks to replace that “right to reproductive freedom” with a promise to protect unborn life at any point in pregnancy except in cases of “medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest.” The resolution — the passage of which prompted chaos from abortion activists who took over the chamber gallery following the key vote on Wednesday — would also protect children from the dangers of cross-sex hormones and transgender mutilations.
Prior to Amendment 3, Missouri law barred abortions “except in cases of medical emergency.”
Amendment 3’s journey from petition to ballot was fraught with deception and questions of legality. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified the proposed amendment in August 2024 after Missouri Republicans failed to stop abortion radicalists from sneaking their agenda into the deep red state. Instead of killing Democrats’ 50-hour filibuster and passing legislation that would have fortified the constitutional amendment, the state’s GOP senators adjourned the upper chamber instead.
Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh found in early September that the petition to put abortion through birth in front of voters did not meet the disclaimer mandates outlined by Missouri law. Shortly after, however, the state supreme court overruled his decision and sent the amendment to the ballot box.
Proponents of Amendment 3 spent the months leading up to the 2024 election promising that adding the expansive abortion amendment to the state’s governing document would not threaten the legislature-outlined limits or parents’ rights already on the books. Just six months after the 2024 election, however, proponents used Amendment 3 to target parental consent protections for underage girls seeking abortions and for minors desiring sterilizing transgender drugs or mutilation.
Voters are expected to cast their votes on the resolution to replace Amendment 3 during the 2026 midterms unless Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe opens the door for an earlier vote via special election.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America celebrated the proposed pro-life amendment as an opportunity to “save lives, protect parents’ rights, and safeguard women and girls.”
“We applaud the Missouri legislature for passing this pro-life amendment to save lives, protect parents’ rights, and safeguard women and girls. We call on Missouri GOP leaders in Washington and across the state to offer their strong, vocal support of this measure,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement. “When GOP leaders engage, we win on abortion ballot measures because the abortion lobby’s campaigns are exposed and their lies are refuted.”
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
