Tuesday night, Missourians passed a referendum that would allow for abortions , in part, to be preformed again in the state. The measure passed with 51% of the vote, or 1,531,139 votes total according to unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of States website.
Amendment 3, according to reporting by the Springfield News Leader , sought to amend the state’s constitution and enshrine a fundamental right to reproductive freedom in Missouri’s constitution. After Roe v. Wade fell, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion under the U.S. Constitution, Missouri was one of the first states to have “trigger laws,” go into effect banning abortion in the state.
Missouri’s trigger law , which went into effect on June 24, 2022, only allowed abortion in the case of medical emergency to prevent the death of the pregnant woman. People who performed abortions could face a felony charge.
Abortions in Tennessee, Missouri limited after Dobbs ruling
Since then, abortion in Missouri has been hard to come by. Tennessee has a near total abortion ban, with exceptions only in the cases of medical emergencies, similar to Missouri.