Missourians will pass a historic amendment on Tuesday night that will codify the right to abortion access until fetal viability in the state constitution, according to projections.
Amendment 3 will repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban and restore access until around 24 weeks of pregnancy ― a monumental win for abortion rights advocates in the deep-red state. The passage of Amendment 3 marks the first time that voters have overturned a total abortion ban in the current post-Roe v. Wade landscape.
The measure will protect the right to make decisions about other reproductive health issues as well, including birth control, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, miscarriage care and “respectful birthing conditions.” It will also protect Missourians from being prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes, such as miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion.
“This is an especially historic win for Missouri, one of a growing number of red, blue and purple states ― and the first with a total abortion ban ― to approve a constitutional amendment protecting abortion,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a Tuesday night statement.
“In fact, the amendment goes even further, calling for ‘a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, defined to include abortion and all matters relating to reproductive health care,’” she continued. “By saying yes to this powerful language, voters have demanded the return of the essential human rights and freedoms they lost after Roe was overturned.”
The initiative is counter-intuitive for a Republican stronghold with a long anti-abortion history. The state had only three abortion clinics in 2017 after years of targeted restrictions on abortion providers. The last clinic in the state closed shortly after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a national right to abortion, was overturned in June 2022.
Although the amendment is a historic win for abortion rights advocates in Missouri, the lack of brick-and-mortar clinics means abortion access in the state still has a long way to go. Many of the prior abortion regulations, including the 72-hour waiting period and the ban on telemedicine, will need to be litigated in court.
The amendment will be in effect as soon as the vote is finalized, although anti-abortion groups will likely challenge the results in the coming months.