Amendment 3: Revisiting abortion rights in MO
In the Missouri midterms, voters are asked to vote on reproductive rights for the second time in two years.
The midterm elections will occur Nov. 3. Amendment 3 on this ballot involves abortion and gender transition procedures.
According to the ballot, voting “yes” would:
- Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
- Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve weeks’ gestation), emergencies and fetal anomalies;
- Allow legislation regulation abortion;
- Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
- Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors
Missouri currently limits abortion to fetal viability or until a fetus could survive outside of the uterus after around 24 weeks but differs by person. This policy started in 2024 when voters passed an amendment 3 under the same name with different policies.
The upcoming Amendment 3 would permit abortions for medical emergencies, pregnancies outside of the uterus and miscarriages. Missouri’s Secretary of State website said the amendment would “allow restriction of abortions to cases of medical emergency, rape and incest under twelve weeks gestation and fetal anomalies.”
Truman State University has a pro-life advocacy organization called Students for Life. The president is senior music therapy major Erin Scott.
“It’s gonna put in protections for women,” said Scott on the amendment. “They have to have informed consent and access to medical care, which is something that you don’t necessarily have right now because abortion is so unrestricted.”
If the proposed amendment is voted in, public funding of abortions would be limited, and informed consent and voluntary consent would be mandatory. In the case of minors, parents or judges would provide consent.
Unlike the amendment in 2024, this one includes prohibition of gender transition procedures, specifically for minors. These include gender transition surgeries, cross-sex hormones and puberty blocking medication according to the Secretary of State website fair ballot language. The amendment would allow for medical condition-based exceptions.
The current legislation states the prescription of cross-sex hormones or puberty-blockers to minors would result in healthcare professionals losing their licenses or undergoing disciplinary reviews.
The Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act from 2023 added these restrictions. Adding the regulations to the constitution via an amendment would make future changes more difficult.
Cris Torres y Torres, President of College Progressives, said a lot of advertisements and signs are pushing the gender affirming care part of the amendment. He said if this amendment passes after the 2023 Amendment 3, it’s a sign officials can get away with revisiting amendments in the future.
“It’s just manipulating people,” Torres y Torres said. “It feels insulting for the average Missouri voter to be lied to like that.”
Torres y Torres said College Progressives will stand at polling places within 25 miles and hand out information on the amendment Nov. 3. The organization has also been phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, sending out text messages, and connecting with larger advocacy groups.
Torres y Torres said he knows people who are considering leaving Missouri if the amendment passes. As a nursing student, Torres y Torres is concerned gynecologists may leave the state if they cannot practice.
Torres y Torres said the option of abortion is important for medical reasons and in the case of individuals not being prepared to provide for a child.
Students for Life tabled on the University’s Quad for Amendment 3 before the election Oct. 30.
“Our main goals are that we want to support women, children and life at all stages and we want to provide education to students about pro-life issues,” Scott said.
