Health

After Missouri voters reject abortion ban, Planned Parenthood looks to expand access

St. Louis Public Radio | By Sarah Fentem

Published November 5, 2026 at 9:17 AM CST

Katie Thorman, of Holly Hills, and Katlin Kouns, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers' communications manager, look at election results during an anti-Amendment 3 watch party at .Zack on Tuesday night in St. Louis' Midtown neighborhood. If passed, the amendment would have reversed a 2024 voter-approved amendment enshrining the right to an abortion and other related healthcare into the state's constitution.

Voters rejected Amendment 3, the Missouri measure that would have prohibited most abortions except in cases of rape, incest or some medical emergencies, by a margin of 55-45%.

Planned Parenthood representatives say the organization will now work to make abortion more accessible after voters on Tuesday rejected Amendment 3.

The Missouri measure would have banned most abortions except in cases of rape, incest or some medical emergencies. It failed with about 55% of the vote, while approximately 45% backed the ban.

The amendment would also have prohibited gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors.

The vote affirms the state's approval two years ago of placing the right to the procedure in the Missouri Constitution. Since that initiative passed, Planned Parenthood has begun offering abortion procedures at five clinics – in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia.

Representatives from the organization said Wednesday that they can focus on increasing access now that they no longer need to focus their efforts on the election.

Shira Berkowitz, the public policy and advocacy director of the LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO Missouri, speaks after Missourians reject Amendment 3 during a Stop the Ban watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in St. Louis' Midtown neighborhood.

When asked if Planned Parenthood plans to expand to more clinics, Dr. Margaret Baum, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said "abortion access is always our goal."

"People in urban areas, people in rural areas, people who need abortions need them and find us. And we are just trying to make that a little bit easier for folks," she said.

The group likely will face more headwinds in the future. Planned Parenthood has been fighting the State of Missouri in court since the 2024 constitutional amendment passed, alleging that restrictions on clinics constitute a ban in all but name. The state challenged a lower court ruling that found many of those restrictions violated the constitution.

Proponents of the 2026 push to reinstate the ban said that the coalitions built during the election will allow them to continue their fight to outlaw abortions in Missouri.

"Tonight is a loss for women, a loss for children, and a loss for life," said James Lawson, campaign manager for Her Health, Her Future, one of the advocacy groups that backed Amendment 3, in a statement after Tuesday's results arrived.

"Her Health, Her Future will continue fighting for unborn life, for the protection of children, and for the health and safety of women," the group's representatives said in a press release. "This campaign built a coalition of doctors, pastors, parents, and volunteers in every corner of this state, and that coalition is not going anywhere."

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway speaks to Gov. Mike Kehoe while joining supporters of Missouri's Amendment 3 at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport on Monday morning in Chesterfield. The measure, if passed, would have undone the 2024 measure enshrining the right to an abortion in the state constitution and instead ban it entirely — except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest.

Some pollsters had predicted the trans care ban would push the measure over the finish line.

Shira Berkowitz, public policy and advocacy director of the LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO Missouri, said there's already a state ban on surgeries and hormones for trans minors, but the hormone ban sunsets next year.

"None of the attack ads on trans kids' bodies worked to win candidates, it's a losing message," Berkowitz said.

Like those from Her Health, Her Future, Berkowitz said that during the run-up to the election, PROMO had built relationships with people that would help them fight for reinstating some procedures in the state for minors.