A judge last Friday ordered the Secretary of State to rewrite the ballot summary for Amendment 3, the upcoming pro-life ballot measure. At issue was HJR73, a 2025 measure that would roll back some of the worst provisions of the pro-abortion constitutional amendment that was narrowly approved in the 2024 general election. HJR73 was certified and listed as Amendment 3 by the Missouri Secretary of State for the 2026 general election. Amendment 3 would amend the Missouri Constitution to guarantee access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages; limit abortions to medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies, rape, and incest; restore health and safety standards for abortion clinics; ensure parental consent for minors; prohibit public funding of abortions except in limited circumstances; and, protect children from gender-transition treatments and procedures.
Abortion rights proponents and the ACLU of Missouri sued over the language of HJR73. The lawsuit argued that the ballot language would mislead voters into unknowingly voting against abortion rights.
Cole County circuit judge Daniel Green agreed with the ACLU on this point and ordered the Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to rewrite the summary and fair ballot language for Amendment 3. The current summary and fair ballot language can be viewed on the Secretary of State website here.
The ACLU also wanted the ballot measure struck down entirely, arguing that Amendment 3 would also ban transgender health care for minors and violates a requirement that ballot measures only deal with one subject. Judge Green ruled against the ACLU on this argument. He ruled that gender-affirming care was “closely related” to reproductive health care and did not constitute two subjects.
You can read more at the Kansas City Star or the Missouri Independent.