Constitution

Backed by the group Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the measures would amend the Missouri Constitution to declare that the “government shall not infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” That would include childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion services, and miscarriage care.

Opponents to the measure say it's a rash response to recent ballot initiatives where voters approved policies Republicans have blocked in the legislature — including Medicaid coverage for low-income adults and marijuana legalization.

Over the years, Missouri voters have passed several issues through the initiative petition process, including medical and recreational marijuana, Medicaid expansion and a minimum wage hike. A GOP-proposed bill would raise the percentage of votes needed to pass a proposed change to the Missouri Constitution from a simple majority to 60%.

In a party-line vote, Missouri House members approved proposals to make it more difficult to pass constitutional amendments.

Since the end of the 2022 election cycle, there’s been increased talk from proponents and opponents of abortion rights about putting a constitutional amendment about the issue on the 2024 ballot. But a proposal from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft would raise the bar for passing those amendments to 60%.

At 224 pages and just over 69,000 words, the current Missouri constitution is the fourth in the state's history. November's ballot will ask if voters want a new one.

Thanks to a Missouri law, voters must be asked every 20 years whether they would like to call a convention to amend the state constitution. But since the question started being asked in 1962, Missourians have never voted "yes."

The state constitution itself has its roots in the bitter days of Bleeding Kansas. One proposed version that granted the right to vote for free African Americans was rejected by a pro-slavery Congress.

There are 21 Republicans seeking to succeed Missouri's Sen. Roy Blunt, but much of the focus in the Republican primary is revolving around former Gov. Eric Greitens. Plus, Kansas will be the first state in the country to vote on whether to protect abortion rights after Roe v. Wade, but the stakes are also high for people living in neighboring Missouri.

Two employees of a Lawrence, Kansas, business were convicted of conspiring to "encourage or induce" undocumented immigrants to reside in the U.S. But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the federal statute "criminalizes a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech."

Erwin Chemerinsky thinks decisions by the high court in recent years will have a detrimental effect on its validity in the short term.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, a “trigger ban” in Missouri would bar abortions except in the cases of a medical emergency. Some GOP lawmakers want to pass an amendment specifying that there is no right to an abortion in the Missouri Constitution, either.