Fact Finders: Does Amendment 3 really outlaw medically necessary abortions? We asked legal experts.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - For the second time in three years, Missouri voters will decide whether abortion stays legal in the state. A new ad claiming the measure could cost women their lives is now facing scrutiny.

Several KY3 viewers sent questions about the amendment and the ad. The questions were generally worded this way: “Is it true that Amendment 3 will outlaw medically necessary abortions?”

“I needed abortion care to save my life. And now politicians in Missouri are trying to take that away from us.”— Stop the Ban political ad

The ad that started the conversation

That ad kick-started the conversation about the abortion language in Amendment 3. You can read the full text of the proposed amendment on Ballotpedia.

Stop the Ban defends the ad. The group says that under politicians’ last abortion ban that included a so-called “emergency exception,” women were forced to wait until their condition worsened and, even then, would have to leave the state to receive basic health care.

KY3 talked to law professors about the ad and the language in the current proposed amendment.

“It’s a pretty significant change in Missouri law.”— Allen Rostron, UMKC School of Law

“If this new Amendment 3 were to pass, the default is that most abortions will not be legal.”— Professor Rigel Oliveri, University of Missouri

What the ballot language says

This is part of the language that will appear on the ballot in November:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, and allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies, and fetal anomalies?

The ballot question also addresses parental consent. Both professors flagged one phrase in particular: medical emergencies. Who defines a medical emergency? Would doctors be second-guessed?

“It doesn’t define what an emergency would constitute. And so the issue with that — and we’ve seen this with other bans in other states that provide similar exceptions — without being clear, without being written by doctors, doctors don’t have enough guidance to know where the line is. And doctors will tend to err on the side of caution and not act.”— Professor Rigel Oliveri, University of Missouri.

“Doctors are risk averse. They don’t like getting sued, let alone getting arrested. And so their argument would be, well, this — even though you’re still allowing abortions in emergencies — you’re creating a situation where it might be challenged or questioned, and therefore doctors will hesitate.”— Allen Rostron, UMKC School of Law.

Her Health, Her Future supports an abortion ban. The group says Stop the Ban’s ad “is misleading at best,” adding doctors shouldn’t hesitate when the patient is a pregnant woman.

Is the ad right, wrong, true or false?

“I can on the one hand understand why some viewers of that ad would say this seems like it’s misleading to me. But I could see how people who made the ad could say, well, technically, no, it is correct.”— Allen Rostron, UMKC School of Law.

“Under Amendment 3, it would still provide that in a medical emergency an abortion could be done, but now it would have to meet the standard set forth in the law — a specified standard of what a medical emergency means. And so it wouldn’t be as absolute and complete or unqualified as it is now.”— Professor Rigel Oliveri, University of Missouri.

What a yes or no vote means

A YES vote on Amendment 3 repeals the right to abortion. Exceptions remain for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, and rape or incest under 12 weeks.

A NO vote leaves access to abortion in place.

The full amendment also addresses gender-affirming care for minors. The complete text is linked above, along with complete statements from groups on both sides of the issue below. Longer conversations with both professors will be posted on KY3’s streaming channel in the coming days.

Statement from Stop the Ban

Missourians know the harms of abortion bans. Under politicians’ last abortion ban that included a so-called “emergency exception,” women were forced to wait until their condition worsened and even then would have to leave the state to receive basic health care. That’s why we ended the abortion ban and protected reproductive freedom in 2024.

We made it clear that we don’t want politicians to make medical decisions for us and our families.

But now politicians are trying to undo our vote. Amendment 3 will overturn the will of voters and ban abortion. It is the politicians’ reaction to the work Missourians did in 2024 to end the state’s previous abortion ban.

Related background cited by Stop the Ban:

• Experts explain how abortion ban exceptions for rape and incest are inaccessible in practice
• In states with abortion bans, rape exceptions ‘fail to provide reasonable access’ to survivors, researchers say
• Ectopic pregnancy deaths have nearly doubled. It’s worse in states with abortion bans

— Tom Bastian, Director of Communications, NO on 3, Stop the Ban

Statement from Her Health, Her Future

Stop the Ban’s ad is misleading at best. Amendment 3 explicitly protects a woman’s access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages. A “medical emergency” is not a new or undefined term in Missouri law, and Amendment 3 doesn’t change it. Doctors don’t hesitate to treat other patients experiencing a medical emergency, and they shouldn’t hesitate when the patient is a pregnant woman. Amendment 3 ensures they don’t have to second-guess.

Furthermore, Stop the Ban and the out-of-state groups and billionaires funding them are defending the status quo, which lacks required emergency plans and the requirement that providers have hospital admitting privileges when women experience complications after an abortion. Amendment 3 sets a safety floor for emergencies and restores these basic safety standards for women.

— Amanda Sanders, Communications Director, Her Health, Her Future

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