Missouri voters rejected Amendment 3 on Nov. 3, defeating a legislative proposal to ban most abortions and enshrine restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors in the state constitution.
The Associated Press called the race with "no" leading at more than 55% of the vote, according to St. Louis Public Radio. KOMU reported 55.5% of voters said "no," per the AP. Results are unofficial and pending certification by the Missouri Secretary of State.
The outcome preserves the constitutional right to abortion that voters approved in 2024, when 51.6% supported ending the state's near-total ban. Amendment 3 lost by a wider margin than that earlier measure passed, according to St. Louis Public Radio's post-election coverage.
Unofficial Results
| Percentage | Status |
|---|---|---|
No (reject Amendment 3) | ~55.5% | AP race call |
Yes (approve Amendment 3) | ~44.5% | AP race call |
Source: Associated Press race call, as reported by KOMU and St. Louis Public Radio. Raw vote totals were not available in published reports at the time of this article. Results are unofficial pending state certification.
What Amendment 3 would have done
The Republican-led legislature voted in 2025 to place Amendment 3 on the ballot. According to the Missouri Secretary of State's ballot summary, a "yes" vote would have:
- Repealed the 2024 voter-approved amendment providing reproductive health care rights, including abortion through fetal viability
- Allowed abortions only for rape and incest under 12 weeks' gestation, medical emergencies and fatal fetal anomalies
- Allowed the legislature to pass laws regulating abortion
- Prohibited gender transition procedures for minors
The prior ban overturned in 2024 had no exemptions for rape or incest. Amendment 3 listed more exceptions but would have still banned most abortions, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Campaign and strategy
Gov. Mike Kehoe campaigned and raised money to pass the measure. Before the election, Kehoe said on his official X account that a "yes" vote on Amendment 3 would protect children from gender transition procedures, end late-term abortions and ensure the health and safety of women.
Many ads supporting the proposal focused on the gender-affirming care ban rather than abortion, according to St. Louis Public Radio. State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick had framed the strategy before the vote, saying the abortion issue was "much closer to a 50/50 issue in the state" while gender-affirming care restrictions polled closer to "an 80/20 issue."
The campaign committee opposing Amendment 3 held a financial edge. It received more than $26 million in large donations since the beginning of the year, compared to about $6.7 million for the campaign supporting the ban, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Reaction
Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, said the result showed where voters stand.
"They didn't listen to voters last time. I don't expect them to listen to voters this time," Schwarz said, according to St. Louis Public Radio. "But Missourians have spoken loud and clear."
Amanda Sanders, communications director for Her Health, Her Future, called the outcome "a loss for women's health and safety" and "for unborn life," according to St. Louis Public Radio. Sanders also said the group "still maintained a pretty competitive race."
Gender-affirming care implications
Amendment 3 bundled the abortion ban with a constitutional prohibition on gender-affirming care for minors. Gender-affirming care for minors is already banned under Missouri statute. The ban on surgeries is permanent, but restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy are set to expire in August 2027, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Had Amendment 3 passed, those restrictions would have been written into the constitution with no expiration. With the amendment's failure, the existing statutory restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy still carry their August 2027 end date.
A KFF analysis of Missouri voters found 58% opposed repealing the constitutional right to abortion, while 62% supported prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors. Voters were more than five times as likely to say abortion policy was the more important issue to their vote than gender-affirming care for minors, according to KFF.
What comes next
Schwarz said she does not expect the issue to be settled in Missouri, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The legislature could pursue new abortion-related legislation in future sessions, though voters on Nov. 3 also approved Amendment 6, which requires an 80% supermajority in both legislative chambers before lawmakers can modify voter-enacted statutes.
