- The Missouri Senate passed a bill for a constitutional amendment that would repeal the state's 2024 abortion rights measure and restrict abortions except in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape or incest.
- The proposed amendment would also prohibit surgeries, hormones or drugs for minors' gender transitions and hold doctors accountable for damage to reproductive health.
- Republicans view the amendment as a winning strategy while Democrats criticize it as undermining the will of voters who supported abortion rights in the 2024 amendment.
Missouri legislators are positioning themselves again to alter the state’s abortion laws through constitutional amendment.
In a 21-11 vote and rarely used procedural rules, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that would put a newly proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2026. However, if Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe chooses to hold a special election, Missouri voters could decide what abortion laws their state will observe much sooner.
If passed, the amendment would repeal the state’s 2024 constitutional amendment, which loosened the state’s laws regarding abortions.
The new constitutional amendment also includes restrictions against assisting the gender reassignment of minors.
Currently in Missouri, abortion is legal up to fetal viability, which is typically 24 weeks.
What does the amendment say?
First, the constitutional amendment prohibits abortion, “except in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape or incest,” and it prohibits public funds from being used to pay for them.
In the case of rape or incest, abortions are only legal for 12 weeks after gestation.
The second section of the amendment prohibits the use of surgeries, hormones or drugs to aid minors with gender transitions. It also places accountability on doctors for intentionally or negligently causing damage to another person’s reproductive health, stating they could lose their medical license.
What is Missouri’s abortion history?
The Missouri Legislature passed a near-total abortion ban in 2019 that would go into effect if Roe v. Wade was overturned. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, and the ban was in effect for nearly 2½ years.
Then at the end of November 2024, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment, which included the right to an abortion up until fetal viability — around 24 weeks, per the Missouri Independent.
And again, state legislators positioned themselves to tackle the issue of abortion through another constitutional amendment with the referendum’s passage in the Senate Wednesday.
Republicans optimistic about constitutional amendment option
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, encouraged her fellow Republicans to be “as devoted as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.,” during their own abortion fights, according to a press release.
Florida’s attempt to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution failed in 2024. Similarly in Nebraska, Ricketts bankrolled the more restrictive amendment, limiting abortion to 12 weeks, per the Nebraska Examiner.
“When GOP leaders engage, we win on abortion ballot measures because the abortion lobby’s campaigns are exposed and their lies are refuted,” Dannenfelser said.
Democrats frustrated by the issue reappearing on the ballot
Brian Williams, a Democratic state senator, declared his opposition to rerunning an abortion-related constitutional amendment during debate. He said Republicans behind the motion were “trying to overturn the will of the voters,” per The Associated Press.
Similarly, Missouri Rep. Eric Woods called the move to put abortion back on the ballot “disgusting” in an X post Wednesday evening.
“Missouri Republicans used all of their remaining energy this session ... to put a measure on the ballot to bring back Missouri’s abortion ban. Disgusting. If you’re not already mad, now’s the time,” he wrote.
Rasheen Aldridge Jr., a former state representative and current member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, added, “Missouri legislators are ignoring the will of the people by disregarding Amendment Three, which was overwhelmingly supported at the ballot box,” with Wednesday’s vote.
“This blatant assault on democracy and women’s rights exposes just how out of touch some lawmakers are with the communities they’re supposed to serve,” he added.