Missouri judges rewrite abortion ban ballot question. What voters will see
An appeals court on Thursday struck down Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ language for an upcoming ballot measure that would ban nearly all abortions in the state.
The ruling from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District found that the question Hoskins, a Republican, wrote failed to accurately inform voters that the measure would strike down last November’s historic vote that legalized access to the procedure.
The three-judge panel kept the measure on the November 2026 ballot, but rewrote both the question and the language that will appear at polling places.
Thursday’s order marks a win for abortion rights advocates and the ACLU of Missouri, which sued over the language. Abortion rights supporters argued that Hoskins’ ballot question was intentionally misleading and written in a way to entice voters to once again ban abortions.
The ruling signifies the latest revelation in a protracted fight over abortion access in Missouri. Republican lawmakers placed the measure, called Amendment 3, on the ballot after voters last year legalized abortions in a vote that was also called Amendment 3.
The proposed constitutional amendment would completely strike down last year’s vote and allow abortions in only a few rare instances. It would also ban gender-affirming care for minors, which is already illegal under state law.
Tori Schafer, the director of policy and campaigns for the ACLU of Missouri, touted the ruling as crucial on Thursday, pointing to a pair of anti-abortion bills already filed ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
“With bills filed already threatening prosecution against providers and patients, it is crucial that Missourians know they are being asked to end the protections for reproductive health care that we just passed in the last general election,” Schafer said.
The three-judge appeals panel largely agreed with the ACLU’s arguments, writing in its ruling that the new measure “eliminates the fundamental right” established under last November’s vote.
The new amendment also “places more limitations on the circumstances under which an abortion may be performed and allows the General Assembly to enact laws broadly regulating abortions, abortion facilities, and abortion providers,” the panel wrote in its decision.
A spokesperson for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which represented Hoskins in the case, did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would appeal the decision.
The question that will appear on the ballot, as rewritten by the panel, would state:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
- Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies, and fetal anomalies;
- Allow legislation regulating abortion;
- Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
- Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors?”
The now-void language that Hoskins crafted would have stated:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- Guarantee women’s medical care for emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages;
- Ensure women’s safety during abortions;
- Ensure parental consent for minors;
- Repeal Article I, section 36, approved in 2024; allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest; and
- Prohibit sex-change procedures for children?”
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM.
