Missouri voters have a chance to reverse an expansive 2024 pro-abortion measure, but the Show-Me State remains a complicated pro-life battleground.
On Nov. 3, Missouri could become the first U.S. state to reverse a previously passed pro-abortion amendment since the overturn of Roe v. Wade — a unique opportunity for the Show-Me State’s pro-life voters.
“This vote may be the best chance we have in the near future to reinstate protections for mothers and their preborn children,” said Jamie Morris, executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, which advocates policy on behalf of the state’s Catholic bishops.
Almost exactly two years ago, Missouri voters narrowly approved Amendment 3, which added language guaranteeing “reproductive freedom” to the state constitution — a provision which has since been used by courts to strike down many of the state’s pro-life laws, once some of the strongest in the nation.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe in 2022, Missouri protected unborn babies under law throughout all of pregnancy, with the only exception being cases of “medical emergency.” Following the 2024 “reproductive freedom” amendment’s passage, however, nearly all of Missouri’s pro-life protections were rendered unenforceable — including the state’s ban on race- and sex-selective
