Nearly two years after overturning Missouri's near-total ban on abortion, voters are again being asked to decide the issue.
Amendment 3, brought to the ballot by the Republican-led state legislature, would repeal the constitutional amendment passed in 2024 and reban most abortions in the state.
Earlier this month, Bruce Rogers attended a forum in Union put on by Franklin County Democrats. Rogers wore what was originally a shirt supporting the old Amendment 3, which overturned Missouri's near-total abortion ban.
Missouri voters approved that Amendment 3 in 2024 with 51.6% of the vote
Now, the yes on Rogers' shirt is crossed out, and the word no is written above it.
"They're acting like they found a middle ground. We don't see it as a middle ground. We see this as simply reversing the 2024 will of the people," Rogers said.
Rogers' wife, Desiree White, said it's hard to believe Missourians are voting on the issue again.
"It's really just unimaginable that our lawmakers in Missouri have so little respect for Missouri voters and think that Missouri voters don't have enough sense to be able to understand what an amendment's saying and isn't saying," White said.
Sam Lee, director of Campaign Life Missouri, said he's happy to see the number of people who are trying to get Amendment 3 passed, including churches. He also said having more time to get the word out has helped.
Lee doesn't see a problem with bringing the issue back to voters nearly two years later.
"How many times have we dealt with gambling? And nobody ever complained. 'Oh, we just dealt with riverboat gambling, you know, two or four years ago. Why are we dealing with sports betting now?' Things get on the ballot, and the voters have to make a decision," Lee said.
The new Amendment 3
Amendment 3 is not a direct mirror of Missouri's prior ban, which had zero exceptions for rape and incest.
The new proposal allows for abortions in instances for rape and incest up to 12 weeks gestation. It also contains exceptions for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and fetal anomalies.
Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, the sponsor of Amendment 3, said this provides a more moderate option for voters to decide on abortion.
"This is the middle of the road proposal that allows for some exceptions, protects miscarriage care, protects ectopic pregnancy care, makes sure that everything is done safely," Lewis said.
Lewis said the constituents he's talked with overwhelmingly support Amendment 3. He also said there are Republicans who don't want any exceptions.
"This is a tough situation for this. We're making an exception for those individuals for the first 12 weeks. Is it going to be easy to defend? It's going to be a little tougher to defend that position. But those are exceptions that people want," Lewis said.
Those against the amendment don't believe it's a moderate proposal at all.
"The bottom line is overturning the will of the people is not middle of the road," said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri.
Schwarz, who is also a spokesperson for the anti-Amendment 3 group Stop the Ban, said the exceptions listed within Amendment 3 don't work on a practical basis.
"There is no process outlined of how someone could access care in the timely way that they need. We saw previously when there were exceptions in Missouri law that it didn't work," Schwarz said.
While the language of the amendment says, "an abortion may be performed or induced upon a woman in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest," details on how those exceptions work are not stated.
Rep. Jaclyn Zimmermann, D-Manchester, believes the exceptions for rape and incest add more complications.
"We're looking at it in the news right now. Women say that they're raped, and then people say, 'Oh, well, maybe not.' They don't believe them and it's so difficult for women to prove a rape, anyways. How are we going to do that in a small period of time?" Zimmermann said.
Zimmerman said the 12-week limit also creates logistical problems such as people not knowing they're pregnant.
Lee believes the 12-week gestation limit is enough time for those exceptions.
"I think also if it really involves a medical emergency, where you might have different factors involved in this decision, then that's allowed throughout all nine months of pregnancy. So, I don't think that's going to be an issue," Lee said.
The amendment also allows state legislators to pass laws that regulate abortion.
"It can't be more restricted than what's in the Constitution because the Constitution will trump whatever would be in statute. So, they can't ban all abortions or prohibit abortions when there's a medical emergency," Lee said.
However, Zimmerman believes lawmakers will pass policies that will cause even greater abortion restrictions, even with the listed exceptions.
Constitutional ban on gender-affirming care for minors
Amendment 3 doesn't just address abortion. It also would place within Missouri's constitution a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Missouri lawmakers banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors in 2023. The ban on surgeries, which is rare, is permanent within state law. The portion prohibiting other forms of gender-affirming care like puberty blockers and hormone therapy is set to expire in August 2027.
Supporters believe it's important to place those bans within the Missouri Constitution and to give Missourians the ability to choose.
"They don't have to worry about what those politicians are going to be up to in Jefferson City between now and August of next year," Lee said. "They can decide for themselves. 'Yes, we want this in our constitution. We want to make this permanent,' and I think that's great."
Even though gender-affirming care for transgender minors is currently prohibited, placing those bans in the constitution would make those restrictions much harder to undo.
Michael Walk, a co-leader of the St. Louis chapter of TransParent, said pairing the two issues together is a cynical, calculated move by supporters of the amendment.
"They're trying to have everything that they want, and with certain communities they'll try to sell it as the abortion ban, and with certain communities they'll try to sell it as the trans ban, and sometimes they'll try to sell it as both," Walk said.
Walk said that the transgender community knows combining the issues is an attempt to reban most abortions, but that the amendment also harms transgender people in the state.
"A lot of that has already been denied to Missouri residents, and I'm concerned that it could be off limits to them for years and years to come, and it is my hope to stop that for that reason," Walk said.
Early voting is underway in Missouri. Election day is Nov. 3.
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