abortion ban

Abortion may be legal again in Missouri, but only 80 elective abortions have been performed in the year since Amendment 3 passed. Decades of restrictions have gutted the state’s provider network, and medication abortion is still unavailable as the courts sort out which old laws are constitutional.

The ballot measure also includes a ban on gender affirming health care for minors. Judges reissued the summary statement that voters will see on November 2026 ballots to make clear rights were being repealed, not newly established.

Missouri doesn't have a marquee statewide race next year. But the results of some contests, including a Republican-written ballot measure to undo abortion rights, could be a big sign of a Democratic wave or continued GOP dominance.

Procedural abortions are available at three Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri, but medication abortions remain completely unavailable as numerous legal fights unfold over the state's restrictions.

Catherine Hanaway recently returned to public office after nearly 20 years. As Missouri's attorney general, she’ll be handling major litigation involving abortion and congressional redistricting.

Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued that reinstating the state's abortion regulations would not cause "irreparable harm" to patients. The appeals court rejected that claim, allowing Planned Parenthood clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis to continue offering services.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' proposed ballot language was "fair and sufficient," even though it does not explicitly state that the constitutional amendment would again ban most abortions in Missouri.

The proposed amendment drafted by Republican lawmakers will appear before voters in November 2026, two years after Missourians codified the right to reproductive health care in the state constitution.

A group called "Stop The Ban" is already receiving six-figure donations for its effort to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal abortion rights in Missouri. The amendment was written by Republican lawmakers and is set to appear on the 2026 ballot.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins will have to rewrite the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment a third time, because the judge ruled that it "fails to adequately alert voters" that the measure would ban abortion.

A judge ordered Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to rewrite the ballot language for an anti-abortion ballot measure, calling it "insufficient and unfair” because it failed to mention the amendment would repeal abortion rights. Hoskins' new language still doesn't mention the ban.

A recent Missouri law giving the attorney general the sole power to appeal preliminary injunctions in cases involving state law is unconstitutional, a judge ruled this week. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway plans to appeal.