Missouri voters defeated Amendment 3, Prohibit Abortion and Gender Transition Procedures for Minors Amendment, with approximately 44.5 percent “yes” votes to 55.4 percent “no” votes, according to complete, but unofficial results.
The amendment failed with 1,173,172 no votes to 941,065 yes votes.
In Jefferson County, the vote failed with 48.46 percent “yes” votes to 51.54 percent “no” votes.
Amendment 3 aimed to repeal the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative ballot measure, which was approved in the November 2024 election.
Failure of Amendment 3 reaffirms the abortion rights voters passed two years ago when the measure passed with 51.6 percent “yes” votes to 48.4 percent “no” votes statewide. The 2024 initiative added a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, defined to include abortion and “all matters relating to reproductive health care,” to the Missouri Constitution, among other provisions.
If Amendment 3 had passed, the existing law would have been reversed and most abortions would have once again been banned in Missouri, leaving exceptions only for medical emergencies, fetal anomaly and cases of rape or incest. In cases of rape or incest, abortion would have only been legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Currently, abortion is legal in Missouri up to the point of fetal viability, which is defined in Missouri law as “that stage of fetal development when the life of the unborn child may be continued indefinitely outside the womb by natural or artificial life-supportive systems.”
Voters motivated by Amendment 3
Allison Graber of House Springs came to Northwest Early Childhood Center for her first time voting during a midterm election to vote against Amendment 3.
“Amendment 3 was really important to me. I didn’t love how some of the commercials portrayed it as protecting women, when in fact it’s harming women to keep the abortion ban in place.”
Graber said she also thought the ballot language was deceiving because in the 2024 election, voting “yes” on Amendment 3 meant supporting abortion access, while this year voting “yes” on Amendment 3 meant supporting the repeal of abortion access.
“I thought it was really misleading that they switched the verbiage and also went against the will of the people in the state,” Graber said.
Justin Hamblen, 40, of Arnold came to vote at the Fox C-6 Service Center to show his support of Amendment 3.
“I am pro-life, not pro-choice. Also, the youth, if you feel that you have a right as an underage minor to go have an abortion at free will, you could start having sex at a young age when you are not responsible enough to do so,” Hamblen said.
Amanda Reid, 39, of Arnold said voting against Amendment 3 was an important reason for her to come vote at the Fox C-6 Service Center.
“It hits close to home with women’s rights. Our ancestors fought for them. I have had family members who ended up having issues where (abortion) was needed. I needed a medical one when I was 23. It would have been me or the baby. I am very open about it. If I wouldn’t have done that, I wouldn’t have my kids now, and I wouldn’t be here for my kids now. I don’t feel like another person should have a say over what happens with your body. They are not in the room with you having to make that decision. They don’t know your situation.”