Amendment 3: Life, Parents and Children
Amendment 3 would replace Missouri's 2024 abortion rule with limits and exceptions, require parental consent for minors, and ban gender-transition drugs and surgery for children. Here's what a Yes...
This is the second post in my plain-words series on Missouri's November 3 ballot. Today we take up Amendment 3. The General Assembly sent it to us, so a Yes writes it into the Constitution and a No leaves the Constitution as it is.
Where We Are Now
In 2024, voters put a right to abortion through fetal viability into the Missouri Constitution, with viability decided by the treating health care professional. In June of this year, a Jackson County judge ruled that the 2024 rule blocks most of Missouri's abortion regulations, including clinic licensing rules.
Parental consent for minors is in state law today, but not in the Constitution. And the state ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors runs out in August 2027 unless lawmakers renew it. The ban on gender-transition surgery for minors is also only a statute, and any future legislature can change a statute.
What a Yes Vote Would Do
- Take out the 2024 abortion rule.
- Allow abortion only for a medical emergency, a fetal anomaly (a condition that makes life outside the womb impossible), or rape or incest before 12 weeks.
- Let the state set health and safety rules for clinics, such as licensing and inspections.
- Require informed, voluntary consent, and a parent's consent for a minor, or a judge's order.
- Stop tax money from paying for abortion, except in limited cases.
- Ban fetal organ harvesting.
- Ban gender-transition surgery, cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers for children under 18, with narrow exceptions for specific medical conditions.
Let's be exact. This is not a ban with no exceptions. The official ballot language also continues to ensure a woman's access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. If someone asks you about the mother's life, that's the answer.
What a No Vote Leaves in Place
A No leaves the 2024 rule in the Constitution, keeps abortion available through fetal viability, and doesn't put the ban on gender-transition procedures for minors into the Constitution. Either way, the official summary says this measure won't raise or lower taxes.
My Recommendation: YES
I recommend Yes for three reasons. First, the 2024 rule is too broad, and we're already seeing it used to throw out basic health and safety rules. Second, parents belong in a minor's decision. Third, children shouldn't be given these drugs or surgeries. A statute can be changed by any future legislature, and the Constitution protects these things for good.
I believe every life is a gift from God. Protecting children, born and unborn, isn't a political philosophy. It's just common sense.
Next in the series (Sun., Oct. 18): Amendment 6, and why I'm asking you not to freeze petition laws in place.