BY: ANNA SPOERRE
Missouri Independent
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ latest version of ballot language for a proposed abortion ban states the amendment would repeal a 2024 amendment after a Cole County judge said he had to be more specific.
The portion revised under court order now reads:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- Repeal Article I, section 36, approved in 2024; allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;’
The previous ballot language used the word “amend” rather than “repeal.”
On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Daniel Green said that Hoskins’ first attempt was “insufficient and unfair” because it didn’t make clear that a current constitutional amendment would be repealed. Hoskins was charged with rewriting the ballot language after Green ordered that the initial wording by lawmakers also did not alert voters that it would repeal the voter-approved amendment.
Like the previous attempt, the language does not explicitly state what is in the section of the constitution to be repealed. That was a key point in the arguments filed over the first effort, with opponents of the amendment saying the ballot language should say it would reinstate a ban on most abortions and attorneys for Hoskins telling Green voters could easily look it up if they wanted to know more.
The proposed amendment drafted by Republican lawmakers will appear before voters in November 2026, two years after Missourians codified the right to reproductive health care — including abortions up until fetal viability — in the state constitution.
Green previously ruled that the remaining bullet points are now acceptable. Hoskins did not make any changes to the summaries, which read:
“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;
- and Prohibit sex-change procedures for children?”
Under a new law enacted this year and upheld in a separate case by Green, Hoskins has three attempts to submit ballot language that satisfies the court. If after that, Green still finds the language insufficient, the judge will rewrite it himself.
Hoskins was also responsible for writing the fair ballot statement that appears in polling places and on the office’s website that summarize what both a “yes” and “no” vote mean.
Green previously told Hoskins to rewrite the “fair ballot language” summary posted to the secretary of state’s website, calling the old language misleading for also failing to state abortion would be banned in most cases.
Hoskins’ latest ballot statement makes just one change by again swapping “amend” out for “repeal.”
This latest summary also states that a “yes” vote would guarantee women’s medical care under specific scenarios, including ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, and allow abortions in the first 12 weeks festation in cases of rape or incest. It would also ban gender-affirming health care for minors.
A “no” vote, Hoskins wrote, in part, would “limit abortion” to specific scenarios.
Prior to the passage of the 2024 abortion rights amendment, nearly all abortions were illegal in Missouri, with limited exceptions for medical emergencies. The new proposed ban would broader access slightly to also allow abortions for survivors or rape or incest up to 12 weeks gestation, though it’s not yet clear if or how a survivor would need to prove the assault in order to receive medical care.