What’s Next for abortion in missouri?
Amendment 3 just made the road to reproductive freedom in Missouri more complicated and a lot longer, even for the privileged.
Who we are
We are advocates, birth workers, policy experts, legal aid providers, and patient navigators who have worked under Missouri’s many abortion bans.
We have worked on the front lines of abortion care and know that Amendment 3 simulates Roe v. Wade, which we know all too well allowed the state of Missouri to interfere in pregnancy decisions. But, Amendment 3 leaders promised us they’d fix those shortcomings in post-election day litigation. What’s Next For Abortion in Missouri will track:
harmful abortion laws Amendment 3 leaders promised to try and fix
the number of abortion clinics Amendment 3 promised would increase
The access landscape for young people, Black & Indigenous MaGes (marginalized genders), people with low-incomes, and people forced to travel out of Missouri for abortion care
Read our calls to action and join us in asking Amendment 3 leaders: what’s next for abortion in Missouri?
Understand the fine print
Amendment 3 permanently allows Missouri’s legislature to interfere in pregnancy. The 2024 election further solidified an anti-abortion trifecta in Jefferson City. This means Missouri remains a hostile environment for abortion providers and pregnant people, no matter how the courts rule or what kinds of “exceptions” are included. Who gets to define when a pregnancy is viable? Who has the power to say an abortion restriction is a “health benefit”? Amendment 3 paved a path for abortion rights to wind right back to the anti-abortion Missouri legislature.
In short, Amendment 3 greases the wheels of the anti-abortion movement’s plan – detailed in Project 2025 – to grant personhood rights to embryos and fetuses, enabling the criminalization of pregnant people.
Our CallS to Action
Every pro-abortion Missourian plays an important role in ensuring Amendment 3 turns into the victory we all want it to be. Amendment 3 is not a win until the least-resourced Missourians can access abortion care no matter their age, income, zip code, gender identity, or insurance status. And we cannot celebrate a win until our communities are safe from pregnancy criminalization. Here are two ways to help us win abortion rights and access in Missouri:
With a Trump administration, and a Republican trifecta in the state, Amendment 3’s legal strategy must close all gaps that put Missourians who face the most barriers to abortion at risk. Court challenges must include bans that target young people, Black & Indigenous MaGes (marginalized genders), people with low-incomes, and people forced to travel out of Missouri for abortion care. We must all demand Amendment 3 leaders take the necessary legal steps to protect patients and providers from state-sanctioned harassment, surveillance, and prosecution.
a comprehensive legal strategy
Donors, advocates, and voters poured their resources - money, sweat equity, and organizing efforts - into Amendment 3 at a time when clinics nationwide are days away from closing and abortion funds are crowdsourcing funding for one patient at a time. Now we need to pivot and support getting abortion seekers the care they need. The Missouri Abortion Fund, Midwest Access Coalition, Reale Justice Network, and Right By You are part of a critical network of direct aid for abortion seekers and pregnant people who are most at risk for pregnancy criminalization, denials of care, maternal mortality, and traveling out of state for abortion care. Fundlatercare.org is a block grant program that will distribute funds to the all-trimester clinics who care for people from states like Missouri that have banned abortion at arbitrary points in pregnancy. Join us in supporting these groups today and urge leading Amendment 3 organizations to do the same.
fund reproductive freedom
Invest in the network committed to supporting abortion seekers and pregnant people who are most at risk for pregnancy criminalization, denials of care, maternal mortality, and traveling out of state for abortion care.
Abortion funds
Abortion funds and practical support organizations like Missouri Abortion Fund and Midwest Access Coalition help abortion seekers who otherwise couldn’t afford to get care. Missouri’s restrictions like insurance coverage bans delay access to care and compound cost barriers.
Right By You helps abortion seekers navigate their options for abortion care and funding, supporting Missourians of all ages with information about their rights and the resources available to overcome barriers to care.
Reale Justice Network is a Black and Indigenous, survivor led, reproductive justice group, that centers the experiences of survivors of domestic, intimate partner, sexual and state violence.
Fundlatercare.org is an urgent appeal to support all-trimester abortion clinics. These providers continue seeing a rise in patients from states like Missouri, where later abortion will remain inaccessible.