Missouri Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Abortion Rights by Leaning Into Anti-Trans Sentiment

Missouri Republicans are attempting to repeal abortion rights by exploiting anti-trans sentiment. The party placed a new Amendment 3 on the November ballot, which aims to restore the state's abortion ban while permitting limited exceptions. However, this amendment also seeks to constitutionally prohibit gender transition care for minors, despite the fact that Missouri has already banned gender transition surgeries and the prescription of puberty blockers and hormones for minors since August 2023.

The Missouri GOP, which holds a supermajority in the legislature and controls all statewide offices, has found itself in a predicament as voters have repeatedly used the initiative petition process to enact policies that the party opposes. The latest attempt failed, with over 80% of voters rejecting the proposal to limit citizens' ability to amend the state constitution.

Republican leaders are now employing misleading language, a carefully chosen distraction, and even a recycled name to repeat the same tactic. They argue that voters likely intended to approve a more restricted abortion ban when they approved Amendment 3 in 2024, but now they want to take away those rights again. Critics dismiss this approach as "ballot candy," a dishonest tactic designed to make an unpopular proposal more palatable.

A billboard in the St. Louis suburbs urges voters to vote "yes" and "ban transgender surgeries for minors," while the website for the campaign behind the amendment claims that it would protect children from "harmful, sterilizing medical procedures" and restore "common sense health and safety standards" for women's health clinics.

Despite these claims, the amendment would actually repeal the constitutional right to abortion that Missourians approved two years ago.