Jefferson City, MO. – Six months after Missouri voters approved an amendment to the rights of abortion, the state legislators of the State approved on Wednesday a new referendum which would request the repeal of the amendment and rather prohibit most of the abortions of exceptions for rape.
The newly proposed constitutional amendment would return to voters in November 2026, or earlier, if the republican governor Mike Kehoe calls a special election before that.
The Republican senators used a series of rare procedural measures to cut the discussion by opposing the Democrats before passing the proposed revision of the abortion rights by a vote of 21-11. The measure adopted the house led by the Republicans last month.
Immediately after the vote, the demonstrators broke out with songs of “Stop the Ban!” And were left from the Senate room.
The Senate then blocked the democratic debate and gave final approval to a separate measure repealing the provisions of a law approved by voters guaranteeing sick leave paid for workers and increases in the cost of living at the minimum wage. This measure does not go to the ballot. Rather, he will become a law at the signing of Kehoe, who expressed his support for this.
After voting the votes, the Senate indeed ended its annual legislative session – two days before a constitutional deadline to conclude the work.
The Democrats were indignant by legislative actions and promised to retaliate by slowing down all work of the Senate next year.
“Our rights are attacked,” said the Senator of the Democratic State, Brian Williams, during the debate. He accused the Republicans of having “tried to reverse the will of the voters”.
The Republicans argue that they simply give voters a second chance on abortion – and are convinced that they will change their minds due to the new exceptions of rape and incest.
“Abortion is the largest tragedy in the world at the moment,” said the senator of the republican state Mary Elizabeth Coleman while explaining his efforts to repeal the amendment on the rights of abortion. If someone agrees to “take the life of an innocent, then you can probably justify what you want”.
Some GOP legislators said they had to repeal the requirement for paid sick leave, which launched on May 1 because it adds costs that threaten the financial viability of small businesses. The Republicans had negotiated with the Democrats for an alternative to exempt only the smallest companies before removing this and opting for the whole repeal.
Missouri legislators have a history of modification of policies approved by voters. Previously, they tried to block the financing of a Medicaid expansion approved by voters and wrote changes to the measures approved by voters regulating dog breeders and legislative redistribution.
Missouri abortion policies have changed considerably in recent years.
When the United States Supreme Court ended a national right to abortion by overthrowing ROE v. Wade in 2022, he sparked a Missouri law to take effect to ban most abortions. But activists of abortion rights have gathered signatures of petition for initiative to reverse it.
Last November, Missouri voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion until fetal viability, generally considered to be 21 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment also allows subsequent abortions to protect the life or health of pregnant women and creates a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” which includes birth control, prenatal and postpartum care and “respectful birth conditions”.
A limited number of surgical abortions have since produced in Missouri, but abortions by drugs remain pending while Planned Parenthood is disputed with the State on the regulations on abortion.
The new measure aims to repeal the amendment on abortion rights and authorize abortions only for a medical emergency or a fetal anomaly, or in the event of rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also prohibits gender transition surgeries, hormonal treatments and puberty blockers for minors, who are already prohibited under the law of the state.
The survey indicates “that most voters are opposed to most abortions in Missouri, but want to allow abortions to limited exceptions,” said Sam Lee, director of the Life Missouri campaign.
The voting title that voters will see will not explicitly mention amendment 3. Instead, he says that the new measure “would ensure the safety of women during abortions, ensure the consent of parents to minors” and “allow abortions in medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape and incest”. He also indicates that he “will protect children from transition between sexes”, among other provisions.
Senator of the Democratic State, Tracy McCreery, described the measure of “trying to mislead and lie to voters”, echoing similar charges that the Republicans had formulated against the original amendment 3.
A coalition on the rights of abortion which includes the affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and others planned a rally on Thursday at the Capitol of Missouri and judged a vigorous campaign against the measure.
“The rights to abortion have won in this state six months ago and mark my words: the Missourians will again protect freedom of reproduction,” said Emily Wales, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.
