最新杏吧原创

51,549 votes.

That鈥檚 how narrowly Missouri approved Amendment 3, overturning the state鈥檚 abortion ban and enshrining reproductive rights into the state constitution. With more than 2.9 million ballots cast, the measure passed 51.74% to 48.26%, according to unofficial results.

Republicans, eyeing such a close result, will try to overturn the state鈥檚 new right to abortion. It鈥檚 just a question of how.

GOP lawmakers next year will almost certainly attempt to advance constitutional amendments that would undo Tuesday鈥檚 vote. The General Assembly, under firm Republican control, can place amendments on the ballot with a simple majority vote.

What a possible proposal would look like remains unclear. Anti-abortion lawmakers would debate what shape an amendment should take, whether it should fully overturn Amendment 3 or make some kind of modest gesture toward access, such as allowing abortion within the first few weeks of pregnancy.

But even before Amendment 3鈥檚 passage, Republicans were already signaling they would directly fight a victory for the measure.

鈥淧eople will be given an opportunity to vote again,鈥� Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican and staunch abortion opponent, said before the election.

While Missouri became the first state where voters have overturned an abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion, abortion rights measures on Tuesday failed in South Dakota and in Florida, where supporters didn鈥檛 reach the supermajority threshold required for passage. All told, abortion rights measures passed in seven states this year and failed in three.

Missouri Republicans have had success in the past in convincing voters to curb ballot measures they previously approved.

Voters in 2018 approved Clean Missouri, an amendment that included a series of governmental ethics reforms. But the measure also overhauled how the state drew its legislative districts to minimize gerrymandering. Lawmakers placed another amendment 鈥� dubbed Cleaner Missouri 鈥� on the ballot two years later that repealed the redistricting changes.

Voters approved it, in part because it included an even tighter ban on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers that helped Republicans sell the measure to the public. The repeal passed 51% to 49% 鈥� after Clean Missouri passed in 2018 with 62% support.

鈥淚 think you鈥檒l see an effort similar to Cleaner Missouri, as a follow up to Clean Missouri, where people had deceptive language used to try to pass something that most Missourians didn鈥檛 agree with be undone,鈥� Coleman said.

鈥楢ppetite鈥� for changes

But Republicans 鈥� and even the anti-abortion movement itself 鈥� may splinter over how to frame a repeal effort.

Missouri has had a near-total abortion ban in place since moments after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion is only legal in cases of medical emergencies, no exceptions are allowed for victims of rape and incest.

Some Republicans staunchly oppose legal abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, while others are open to exceptions. Republican Gov-elect Mike Kehoe has said he is willing to discuss exceptions, though as governor he won鈥檛 sign or veto an amendment. Any amendment approved by the legislature will go straight to the ballot.

鈥淥nce (voters) understand what they鈥檝e actually done, if it passes, I think there鈥檒l be an appetite to make some changes in that to make it more reflective of where people are,鈥� Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee鈥檚 Summit Republican, said ahead of the vote.

鈥淚 think Republicans went too far when we didn鈥檛 allow for exceptions for rape and incest. And I think the pro-choice people have gone too far.鈥�

Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican, said he will re-introduce a fetal personhood bill that declares fetuses have the same rights and privileges as any other person. While that bill would face certain legal challenges, it underscores the uncompromising posture of some anti-abortion lawmakers.

GOP lawmakers will begin meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward, Seitz said. Amendment 3鈥檚 narrow margin of victory has energized Republicans around the issue 鈥� adding that in the future, anti-abortion Republicans need to do a better job educating voters.

鈥淚 think if this is looked at, possibly in two years, we need to do a better job of informing the voters what the amendment actually entails,鈥� Seitz said.

Amendment 3 recognizes a 鈥渇undamental right to reproductive freedom,鈥� which the measure defines as the right to make decisions 鈥渁bout all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.鈥�

The measure prohibits the General Assembly from banning abortion until fetal viability, defined in the measure as the point in pregnancy when there鈥檚 a significant chance the fetus can survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical measures.

Amendment opponents cast the measure as extreme and alleged it would allow minors to obtain gender transition surgeries without parental consent, which medical and legal experts contend is highly unlikely.

A narrow majority of voters rejected those arguments and sided with Amendment 3 supporters. Still, groups backing the proposal only achieved that outcome with a massive, well-funded campaign that raised more than $30 million.

Groups opposing the measure had only raised hundreds of thousands of dollars as of earlier this fall, though a group linked to conservative activist Leonard Leo gave $1 million in the final days of the race.

鈥淚t makes a big difference to be able to talk to people on all the platforms that we used in this campaign,鈥� Emily Wales, director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said of the funding for the Amendment 3 effort.

Stephanie Bell, a spokesperson for Missouri Stands With Women, a group that campaigned against the measure, acknowledged the organization鈥檚 disappointment with the outcome. But she also noted that despite supporters outspending opponents by millions of dollars, 鈥渓ife won鈥� in a majority of Missouri counties. Amendment 3 won six counties and 最新杏吧原创 City.

Bell said work 鈥渢o protect the safety of women and the dignity of life continues鈥� and predicted ultimate victory 鈥渁gainst the forces who see no value in life.鈥�

Democrats could filibuster

Even as abortion opponents move toward advancing a new amendment in the months ahead, they will have to navigate opposition from Democratic lawmakers and possibly doubts among some Republicans.

Democrats would almost certainly filibuster any measure to repeal abortion rights in the Missouri Senate. Senate GOP leaders are typically hesitant to use parliamentary tactics to break filibusters because senators who supported the filibuster can use Senate procedures to slow business to a crawl.

When Senate leadership does break a filibuster, they usually do so at the end of the annual legislative session 鈥� potentially setting up a high-stakes showdown vote in May.

鈥淭he fight against an issue that women and men have shown is something important to Missourians and all Americans 鈥� it鈥檚 disappointing that my Republican colleagues will not just allow the will of the voters to stand,鈥� Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, said.

In the House, Republican leaders regularly cut off debate to move legislation along. And anti-abortion lawmakers will continue to hold a comfortable majority.

But whether the top GOP lawmaker in the House would advance a repeal amendment isn鈥檛 certain.

The presumptive next House speaker, Rep. Jonathan Patterson of Lee鈥檚 Summit, has said 鈥渨e have to respect the wishes of the people.鈥� Patterson, a physician, would almost certainly face intense pressure from the Republican caucus to allow an amendment to come to the floor, however.

Patterson, the current House majority leader, didn鈥檛 immediately return a call on Wednesday.

鈥淚 think the question should be, what are you going to do when people vote? And what I鈥檝e told people is that we should respect the will of the people and we will,鈥� Patterson said at a candidate forum hosted by the Lee鈥檚 Summit Chamber of Commerce ahead of the election.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be the law of the land and we have to go forward as the people decide.鈥�