Missouri abortion amendment

Missouri Democrats gathered in St. Louis on Saturday for their annual Truman Dinner, the biggest event of the year for a party that remains on the outs in state politics. The 2026 midterms will also include critical votes on a proposed abortion ban and a measure making it harder to change the constitution.

GOP lawmakers placed a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would repeal Amendment 3, the abortion rights measure that Missouri voters approved last year. Except the new ballot summary didn't mention that it would ban abortion — so a Cole County judge ruled that it must be rewritten.

Despite Missourians voting to legalize abortion 10 months ago, Planned Parenthood remains unable to prescribe abortion medication — the most common kind of abortion — to patients.

Currently, constitutional amendments created through Missouri's initiative petition process only need a statewide vote to be enacted. A Republican ballot measure would make winning much more difficult — and it's now headed to the Senate.

The Republican proposal would require constitutional amendments placed on the ballot through the initiative petition process to win a majority of the statewide vote, and to also pass in all eight of Missouri's congressional districts.

A proposed amendment written by Missouri Republican lawmakers would repeal the reproductive rights measure passed by voters last year — but makes no mention that it would ban abortion. The ACLU of Missouri argues the proposal violates the state constitution and misleads voters.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is appealing an order from a Jackson County judge that currently prevents the state from enforcing numerous abortion regulations. But the state supreme court unanimously refused to take up his request.

The Missouri legislature spent a lot of time in the spring working to un-do laws that voters passed on November’s ballot — including paid sick leave and abortion. Now, a group called Respect Missouri Voters wants to stop lawmakers in Jefferson City from doing that.

Missouri lawmakers overturned a paid sick leave law, and advanced an amendment to overturn abortion rights, only six months after voters originally passed both measures. Now, the bipartisan group Respect Missouri Voters wants to put a new initiative on the ballot to prevent that from happening.

After Republican lawmakers rolled back sick leave benefits and targeted abortion rights, a bipartisan coalition called Respect Missouri Voters started pushing an initiative petition seeking to undermine the legislature’s ability to overturn voter-approved measures.

Planned Parenthood Great Rivers opened its books for patients to make abortion appointments starting next week. It's the latest in a saga over abortion access after Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 last November.

A Jackson County Circuit Court judge blocked enforcement last week of nearly all Missouri laws that restrict abortion, ruling the 2024 passage of Amendment 3 enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution. Missouri has already started and stopped abortion services several times this year as legal battles continue.