Abortion ballot measure ‘unfair,’ Missouri judge rules. What now?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Missouri judge ruled abortion ballot summary language misleading to voters.
- Secretary of State ordered to rewrite proposal aiming to ban most abortions.
- Court rejected full dismissal, allowing revised measure on 2026 ballots.
Hello, Star readers.
Today, we’re diving into why a Missouri judge ruled the Republican-led ballot measure that would ban most abortions again must be rewritten.
Next, we’ll get into:
• Priest investigated: A popular Catholic priest in Johnson County resigned last week. Police records show he’s under investigation for a crime that allegedly took place three years ago.
• Kirk fallout: A Kansas town was divided over a teacher being put on leave for calling Charlie Kirk a “fascist.” Plus, here’s how your federal lawmakers voted on a resolution honoring the slain activist.
This week in politics
The latest attempt by anti-abortion lawmakers in Missouri to ban the procedure hit a snag Friday when a judge ruled that a planned 2026 ballot question does not properly inform voters of its true intent.
The measure, called Amendment 3, would strike down last November’s historic vote legalizing abortion access — which was also under a measure called Amendment 3.
“The court finds that the summary statement for HJR 73 is insufficient and unfair,” Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green wrote in the order, which is likely to be appealed to a higher court.
Green’s order gave Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins seven days to rewrite the language of the ballot measure and the language that will be at polling places.
Abortion rights proponents argued in the lawsuit that the question was misleading, pointing to the fact that it did not inform voters that the ballot measure would ban abortions in most cases.
The Republican-led proposal would allow abortions in medical emergencies and cases of fetal anomalies, such as birth defects. It would also allow the procedure in exceptionally rare cases of rape or incest within 12 weeks of gestational age.
Green ruled against abortion rights proponents on their request that he strike down the proposal in its entirety, clearing the way for some form of the question to appear on ballots in November 2026.
Read more about what this means for Missouri voters, from my colleague Kacen Bayless.
More from this past week
• The Trump administration plans to withhold $10 million in food assistance funding for Kansas after Gov. Laura Kelly refused to hand over SNAP recipients’ personal information.
• The University of Missouri violated a pro-Palestinian student group’s First Amendment rights by blocking it from participating in the school’s homecoming parade, a federal judge ruled.
• Johnson County GOP lawmakers aren’t convinced that gerrymandering Kansas’ congressional map to draw Democrat Sharice Davids out of office would be a wise decision. What do you think?
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This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM.