Missouri Amendment 3: What voters need to know before Election Day

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KBSI) – Missouri voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to repeal the state’s constitutional protections for abortion access and establish new restrictions on abortion and gender-transition procedures for minors.

Amendment 3, placed on the ballot by the Missouri General Assembly, would repeal a constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2024 that established reproductive health care rights, including abortion access through fetal viability.

According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, the proposed amendment would replace those protections with restrictions on abortion, allowing exceptions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape and incest.

Under the proposal, abortions in cases of rape or incest would be permitted only before 12 weeks of gestation.

The amendment would also allow lawmakers to regulate abortion providers and facilities, require informed and voluntary consent for abortions and establish parental or judicial consent requirements for minors seeking abortions.

In addition to abortion restrictions, Amendment 3 would prohibit gender-transition procedures for minors, including surgeries, cross-sex hormones and puberty-blocking medications, with exceptions for certain medical conditions.

According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s official ballot language, a “yes” vote would repeal the reproductive health care protections approved by voters in 2024.

It would allow Missouri to restrict abortion to specific circumstances, including medical emergencies, fetal anomalies and cases of rape or incest before 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The amendment would also establish constitutional restrictions on gender-transition procedures for minors.

A “no” vote would leave the reproductive health care protections approved in 2024 in place.

Those protections include the constitutional right to abortion access through fetal viability, subject to the provisions of the existing amendment.

A “no” vote would also reject the proposed constitutional prohibition on gender-transition procedures for minors. Existing state laws governing those procedures would not automatically be repealed.

According to the official fiscal summary, state governmental entities estimate the amendment would result in no costs or savings.

Greene County estimates it could experience an unknown increase in tax revenue, while other local governments anticipate no financial impact.

Missouri voters will consider Amendment 3 during the general election Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The measure requires a simple majority of votes cast on the amendment to pass.

Voters can review the official ballot language and additional election information through the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office at sos.mo.gov.