Forum Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri
Missouri General Election · November 3, 2026
Amendment 3: what is on the ballot, and what is true
The 2026 amendment, the 2024 amendment it would replace, both campaigns' claims, and the numbers. Every statement is tied to a source on page 4.
From the elders. We have one King, and his name is Jesus. That is why Forum is not political. We don't endorse parties. We don't endorse candidates. We never will. We believe every life is sacred and deeply valued because it is a gift from God. When He reveals His heart on matters of such significance, especially in how we treat one another, our calling as a church is to share His truth with grace. So we are not telling you how to think. We are asking you to think. Read it yourself. Then we ask everyone at Forum to pray, to seek the Spirit's guidance on this issue, and to act.
The question
In November 2024, Missouri voters added Article I, Section 36 to the state constitution. The 2026 Amendment 3, referred by the legislature as HCS HJR 73, asks whether to repeal Section 36 and replace it with a new Section 36(a). A YES vote repeals and replaces it. A NO vote keeps the 2024 text. Both measures are called "Amendment 3."
Missouri today, under Section 36
The 2024 text, and how courts have applied it through October 2026
- Declares a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, listing prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions. Any restriction is presumed invalid unless the state proves it is needed for the patient's health and is the least restrictive way to protect it. (§36.2–3)
- After viability (about 24 weeks) the legislature may regulate or prohibit abortion, but never one a treating professional judges in good faith is needed for the woman's life, physical health, or mental health. (§36.4) Missouri's post-viability ban remains in force.
- Bars the government from penalizing anyone for exercising the right or helping another person do so. (§36.5) No court has read this to block malpractice suits.
- In Planned Parenthood Great Plains v. Missouri, Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang applied this standard to about 30 abortion-specific laws. Her June 18, 2026 final judgment struck most: the trigger ban, gestational bans, clinic licensing, the 72-hour wait, the state consent booklet, admitting privileges, and medication-abortion limits. She upheld the physician-only law and the in-person exam.
- Says nothing about gender transition, locker rooms, or sports. Missouri's bans on those for minors (RSMo 191.1720 and 163.048) are in force; the Supreme Court upheld the medical ban on Jan. 13, 2026.
Missouri if Amendment 3 passes
From the enrolled text of HJR 73 and the court-approved ballot language
- Repeals Section 36. States that an abortion may be performed in three cases: rape or incest, no later than 12 weeks; a medical emergency; a fetal anomaly. (¶2) The legislature may regulate abortion. (¶3) The fair ballot language therefore says "allow restriction" (and the ballot title says "allow abortions for…"), not "ban."
- Medical emergency: a physical condition requiring immediate termination to prevent death or serious risk of substantial, irreversible harm to a major bodily function. Mental-health conditions do not qualify. (¶12)
- Fetal anomaly: an abnormality that would make life outside the womb impossible. No abortion may be based on a prenatal disability diagnosis unless it meets that test. (¶4, ¶12)
- Guarantees care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages. (¶8) Bars public funds for abortion except emergency, rape, or incest. (¶5)
- Requires voluntary, informed consent. For a minor, written consent of a parent or guardian, as current law already requires; the legislature may keep a court-order alternative. (¶6)
- Fetal organ harvesting is not permitted under any circumstances. (¶7)
- Writes a ban on gender transition surgery, hormones, and blockers for minors into the constitution, with exceptions for disorders of sex development and unrelated conditions. (¶9) Makes permanent a statutory ban whose hormone portion expires August 2027.
- Sends challenges to state reproductive-health laws to Cole County (¶10); every provision is severable, so if a court strikes one part, the rest stands. (¶13)
Page 2: Yes-side claims, checked · Page 3: No-side claims, checked · Page 4: the numbers, and every source
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What the Yes campaign is saying, checked
Claims from the "Yes on 3" one-pager and fact sheet (Missouri First PAC) and allied material, checked against the constitutional text, Missouri statutes (RSMo), federal law, and court rulings as of October 19, 2026. Page 3 does the same for the No campaign. Citations on page 4.
The claim
Check
What the record shows
Section 36 added a "right" to sex-change procedures for children without parental consent, and put boys in girls' locker rooms and sports.
Not accurate
Section 36 does not mention gender, facilities, or athletics. The SAFE Act (RSMo 191.1720) bans transition surgery, hormones, and blockers for minors; the Missouri Supreme Court upheld it unanimously on Jan. 13, 2026. The school-sports law (RSMo 163.048) was never challenged under Section 36.
Section 36 lets children get abortions without a parent's consent; Amendment 3 "restores" it.
Not accurate
RSMo 188.028 was not challenged and remains in force: a minor needs a parent's, guardian's, or judge's consent today. Nothing is being restored. Amendment 3 would write parental consent into the constitution.
Section 36 blocked the ban on taxpayer funding and requires taxpayers to fund abortion.
Not accurate
RSMo 188.205 bars public funds for abortion and remains in force; the federal Hyde Amendment limits Medicaid regardless. Section 36 does not mandate funding.
Section 36 legalized partial-birth abortion and fetal organ harvesting for profit.
Not accurate
Both are federal crimes a state amendment cannot override: 18 U.S.C. §1531 (upheld in Gonzales v. Carhart, 2007) and 42 U.S.C. §289g-2. Missouri's own bans (RSMo 188.036 and the D&X ban) remain in effect. The June 2026 ruling struck only abortion-specific tissue-handling rules.
Section 36 took away a woman's right to sue her doctor for malpractice, injury, or death.
Not shown
Section 36.5 bars the government from penalizing people for reproductive care. Malpractice law (RSMo Ch. 538) is untouched and no court has held otherwise. The 2026 ruling did strike one abortion-specific insurance rule.
Section 36 allows abortion through all nine months, for any reason, including mental health.
Partly
Not "any reason": Missouri's post-viability ban is in force. But Section 36.4 forbids restricting a post-viability abortion a treating professional judges in good faith is needed for life, physical health, or mental health. That exception is real, and Amendment 3 would remove it.
Section 36 blocked 50+ health and safety standards and informed consent.
Largely accurate
The June 18, 2026 judgment struck most of about 30 challenged statutes and rules: clinic licensing, admitting privileges, the 72-hour wait, the state consent booklet. It upheld the physician-only and in-person exam rules; general medical consent law still applies. "50+" counts regulations with statutes.
Amendment 3 "legally removes over 98% of abortions."
Arithmetic, not outcome
Sums Charlotte Lozier Institute percentages for rape/incest, life risk, and fetal abnormality (1.9%) from the few states that record a reason. It describes what the law would permit. Under Missouri's 2022–24 ban, 10,000–12,000 Missouri residents a year still obtained abortions out of state or by mail (page 4).
The American Academy of Pediatrics says trisomy 13 and 18 are not a reason to abort.
Misattributed
The 2025 AAP report is guidance for caring for infants after birth and takes no position on abortion. Its finding that some children survive is why those diagnoses likely would not meet the amendment's "life outside the womb impossible" test, so those abortions would be barred.
Section 36 flipped Missouri from a pro-life state to the "most pro-abortion state in the country."
Opinion
Section 36's presumed-invalid standard is among the strictest in any state constitution. "Most" is a ranking no one has measured. Missouri still has a post-viability ban, parental consent, a funding ban, and physician-only care, which several states do not.
How Section 36 reached the courts
Nov. 5, 2024
Voters approve Section 36, 51.6% to 48.4%. Planned Parenthood sues the next day.
Voters approve Section 36, 51.6% to 48.4%. Planned Parenthood sues the next day.
Dec. 2024 – Feb. 2025
Judge Zhang blocks the ban and most restrictions. Procedural abortions resume.
Judge Zhang blocks the ban and most restrictions. Procedural abortions resume.
May 27, 2025
Missouri Supreme Court vacates the orders on procedural grounds. Abortions pause.
Missouri Supreme Court vacates the orders on procedural grounds. Abortions pause.
July 2025
Zhang re-issues the injunction under the corrected standard; the appeals court affirms.
Zhang re-issues the injunction under the corrected standard; the appeals court affirms.
June 18, 2026
Final judgment after a 10-day trial. Medication abortion available in Missouri for the first time since 2018. Appeal expected.
Final judgment after a 10-day trial. Medication abortion available in Missouri for the first time since 2018. Appeal expected.
Forum Christian Church · Amendment 3 fact sheet
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What the No campaign is saying, checked
Claims from Stop the Ban (missouriabortionfacts.com), Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri, and allied statements in press coverage, checked against the same record. Spin is not a one-party habit. Citations on page 4.
The claim
Check
What the record shows
Amendment 3 bans abortion "in nearly all cases, including emergencies."
Partly
"Nearly all cases" is a fair description of the effect. "Including emergencies" is not: the text permits abortion in a medical emergency (¶2) and separately guarantees care for emergencies, ectopic pregnancy, and miscarriage (¶8). The real dispute is whether the definition, which requires an immediate threat of death or serious irreversible physical harm, leads doctors to delay. That is an argument from other states' experience, not something the text says.
Amendment 3 "opens the door to jailing doctors and patients."
Half right
HJR 73 contains no criminal penalties. But repealing Section 36 would remove the basis for the injunction against Missouri's existing statute (RSMo 188.017), which makes performing an unlawful abortion a felony. Doctors: plausible. Patients: not accurate. That statute expressly says the woman shall not be prosecuted.
Amendment 3 takes away protections for birth control, IVF, prenatal care, and miscarriage care.
Partly
Section 36 names birth control, prenatal, postpartum, and miscarriage care (IVF is not named). Repealing it removes that constitutional listing. But the new text guarantees emergency, ectopic, and miscarriage care, and no Missouri law bans contraception or IVF; the amendment does not ban them either. "Takes away protection" is accurate; "takes away access" is not what the text does.
It makes it "nearly impossible" for rape and incest victims to get care.
Overstated
The exception exists, runs to 12 weeks, and requires no police report or documentation. The 12-week line is a real limit; "nearly impossible" is not in the text.
The ballot language is deceptive and hides that it repeals the 2024 vote.
Largely accurate
Courts agreed twice. In September 2025 a Cole County judge rejected the legislature's summary, then the Secretary of State's first rewrite; he approved the second rewrite in October. In December 2025 the Court of Appeals rewrote it anyway, finding it did not sufficiently tell voters the measure repeals and replaces the 2024 amendment, or what else it changes. The ballot now carries the appeals court's language.
Combining abortion and transgender care in one measure is illegal "logrolling" and violates the single-subject rule.
Rejected in court
The ACLU of Missouri raised this in its 2025 lawsuit; the court did not strike the measure on that ground, and it is on the ballot. Whether the pairing is a strategy to attract votes is opinion. Supporters' stated rationale is that transition procedures affect fertility.
The transgender-care ban for minors "stays in place regardless of the vote"; the amendment adds nothing.
Partly
SB 49 is in force and was upheld in January 2026, so the ban exists now. But its hormone and puberty-blocker portion expires August 28, 2027 unless the legislature extends it. Amendment 3 would make the whole ban permanent in the constitution. That is not nothing.
"Politicians want a do-over" and are overturning the will of the people.
Partly
It does repeal a measure voters approved, 51.6% to 48.4%, two years ago. But the legislature can only propose a constitutional amendment; only voters can adopt it. If it passes, the people will have repealed it. Both are true.
"Abortion is legal in Missouri now. The ban is over."
Accurate as law
In practice, as of late 2025, 9 in 10 abortions provided in Missouri were pills mailed from out-of-state telehealth providers, and most Missouri residents seeking abortion still traveled to Illinois or Kansas (page 4). "Legal" and "available" are different claims.
Missouri "banned abortion within 20 minutes" of the Dobbs decision.
Accurate
The attorney general issued the opinion activating Missouri's 2019 trigger law minutes after the Supreme Court ruled on June 24, 2022. The law's only exception was the life of the mother.
Who is paying for what you are hearing (Missouri Ethics Commission filings, mid-October 2026)
Yes. Her Health, Her Future PAC: $5.3 million raised. Its largest donor ($2.9 million) is a nonprofit of the same name formed in September 2026 that is not required to disclose its donors. Missouri Right to Life PAC: $800,000+. A campaign adviser says 99% of the money is from Missourians; that cannot be checked.
No. Stop the Ban: $25.7 million raised. Nearly $12 million is from The Fairness Project, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit; most of the total is from outside Missouri, alongside thousands of small in-state gifts. The 2024 campaign for Section 36 raised more than $30 million.
Each side calls the other's money "out-of-state." Both are partly right, and neither will show you all of it.
Forum Christian Church · Amendment 3 fact sheet
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The numbers
1.13M
abortions in the United States in 2025. More than either heart disease or cancer deaths, not both combined. [S10, S11]
93%
of U.S. abortions occur in the first 13 weeks. About 1% occur at 21 weeks or later. [S11]
10–12K
Missouri residents a year obtained abortions in 2021–2023, nearly all in Illinois or Kansas, as in-state clinic access ended and the June 2022 ban took effect. [S12, S13]
9 in 10
abortions provided in Missouri in late 2025 were pills mailed by out-of-state telehealth providers, about 300 a month. [S14]
Why women say they seek abortion (most give more than one reason) [S15]
40%
can't afford a child
can't afford a child
36%
not the right time
not the right time
31%
partner or relationship
partner or relationship
29%
need to care for children they have
need to care for children they have
12%
a health reason, hers or the baby's
a health reason, hers or the baby's
A law changes what is permitted. It does not change why. The reasons above are the ones a church can reach, and they will be the same on November 4th as they are today.
Read it yourself
Start with S1 (the ballot language) and S2 (the amendment text). Both are public and short. S19–S24 are the campaigns' own words, so you can see what we checked.
Pray with us: 1:39, Psalm 139
Every day at 1:39 p.m. until November 3, your elders stop and pray Psalm 139. We are asking you to join them. Whatever you decide at the ballot, that is where this starts.
Sources
S1 Missouri Secretary of State, 2026 Ballot Measures: certified ballot title and fair ballot language (as revised in Fitz-James v. Hoskins, Mo. App. W.D. No. WD88392, Dec. 4, 2025). sos.mo.gov/petitions/2026ballotmeasures
S2 HCS HJR 73, 103rd General Assembly, enrolled text (proposed Art. I §36(a)). documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/2454H.05T.pdf
S3 Missouri Constitution, Art. I §36 (2024 Amendment 3), full text. revisor.mo.gov › Constitution › Article I
S4 Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains v. Missouri, Jackson Co. Cir. Ct. No. 2416-CV31931: injunctions Dec. 20, 2024 and Feb. 2025; final judgment June 18, 2026. Coverage: missouriindependent.com; stlpr.org
S5 State ex rel. Missouri v. Zhang, Mo. Sup. Ct. No. SC101026 (May 27, 2025); appellate affirmance of the July 2025 injunction. Analysis: statecourtreport.org
S6 Center for Reproductive Rights (pro-choice legal group), Missouri law summary: which statutes remain in force after June 2026. reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/missouri
S7 E.N. v. Kehoe (formerly Noe v. Parson), Mo. Sup. Ct., Jan. 13, 2026, upholding SB 49. Timeline from plaintiffs' counsel: lambdalegal.org/case/en-v-kehoe
S8 Missouri Revised Statutes: 188.017 (trigger ban; woman not prosecuted), 188.028 (parental consent), 188.205 (public funds), 188.036 (fetal tissue), 188.020 (physician-only), 191.1720 (SAFE Act), 163.048 (school sports), Ch. 538 (malpractice). revisor.mo.gov
S9 Federal law: 18 U.S.C. §1531 and Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007); 42 U.S.C. §289g-2. uscode.house.gov
S10 Guttmacher Institute (pro-choice research group), "Abortion in the United States" fact sheet; Monthly Abortion Provision Study, 2025 estimate (1,126,000). guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states
S11 CDC, Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2022 (MMWR 73/7): gestational distribution. cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/ss/ss7307a1.htm. Heart disease and cancer deaths: CDC/NCHS leading causes of death.
S12 Missouri DHSS, Vital Statistics 2021–2023, Appendix: estimated resident abortions incl. Illinois and Oklahoma (≈11,200 in 2021; ≈10,300 in 2022). health.mo.gov/data/vitalstatistics
S13 Guttmacher travel estimates for 2023 (≈8,740 Missouri residents to Illinois, ≈2,860 to Kansas), via Charlotte Lozier Institute (pro-life research group), "Abortion Reporting: Missouri (2023)." lozierinstitute.org
S14 Society of Family Planning #WeCount, via KFF Missouri abortion profile (monthly totals, telehealth share, 2023–2025). kff.org/interactive/womens-health-profiles/missouri/abortion-statistics
S15 Biggs, Gould & Foster, "Understanding why women seek abortions in the US," BMC Women's Health 13:29 (2013). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3729671
S16 Charlotte Lozier Institute, "Fact Sheet: Reasons for Abortion" (source of the 98% figure). lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-reasons-for-abortion
S17 American Academy of Pediatrics, "Guidance for Caring for Infants and Children With Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18," Pediatrics (2025). publications.aap.org
S18 Yes material checked: Missouri First PAC, "Why Vote YES on 3" one-pager and "Yes on 3 Fact Sheet." freedomprinciplemo.org/vote-yes-on-amendment-3a
S19 No material checked: Stop the Ban, "Missouri Amendment 3 Facts." missouriabortionfacts.com
S20 No material checked: Abortion Action Missouri, "Missouri Amendment 3 Explained." abortionactionmissouri.org/amendment-3-missouri
S21 ACLU of Missouri, "Missouri ACLU Sues State for Deceptive Ballot Language," July 2, 2025 (single-subject and ballot-language claims). aclu-mo.org
S22 ProPublica, "Missouri's Amendment 3 Could Repeal Voter-Approved Abortion Rights" (2024 margin, ballot-language history, polling). propublica.org
S23 Missouri Independent: "Abortion-rights coalition launches campaign against Amendment 3" (May 27, 2026); "Judge approves ballot language" (Oct. 7, 2025); "Transgender care takes center stage" (Oct. 8, 2026). missouriindependent.com
S24 KCUR, "New Missouri anti-abortion nonprofit pours $2.9 million into Amendment 3 campaign," Oct. 18, 2026 (campaign finance, both sides). kcur.org
Prepared by the elders of Forum Christian Church, October 2026. Informational; not an endorsement of any party or candidate.
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