Redo in the Show Me state

Missouri voters will consider a measure in November to prohibit abortion from the moment of conception, with exceptions during the first 12 weeks for certain fetal anomalies, medical emergencies, rape, and incest. The measure would overturn a constitutional amendment approved unexpectedly in 2024. Missouri became a cautionary tale for the pro-life movement when voters approved Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, establishing a constitutional right to abortion until the baby is able to survive outside the womb.

State courts required the authors of the 2026 proposal to rewrite the language to clearly state the new measure would repeal the 2024 amendment. Missouri had prohibited abortion in most cases and strictly regulated abortion facilities before voters approved Amendment 3.

Despite the constitutional change, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway pushed to preserve regulations governing abortion facilities, including rules mandating centers have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, and requiring a 72-hour waiting period before an abortion. But Planned Parenthood has filed numerous legal challenges to the state’s dozens of pro-life laws on the basis of the 2024 constitutional amendment.

Abortion advances

Voters in Virginia and Nevada will weigh amendments that would enshrine the right to abortion into their state constitutions. Abortion is already legal until the third trimester in the commonwealth, but proponents of the measure fear the laws could change since Virginia is a swing state.

In the Silver State, Question 6—a similar amendment that would recognize in the state ­constitution the right to abortion until fetal viability—already received its first round of approval in 2024. Nevada’s constitutional amendments require two favorable votes in ­consecutive elections to become law. Backers of the constitutional amendment argue it would make the right to abortion more secure given that Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has already vetoed some abortion-related measures. Proponents note it would also give abortion advocates legal standing to challenge regulations like those requiring parental notification before a minor gets an abortion. —A.O.

Personhood proposition

North Carolina lawmakers are debating a measure to recognize that life begins at the moment of fertilization and classify abortion as attempted or first-degree murder. “New human life is recognized by the State as an individual person entitled to the protection of the laws of this State from the moment of fertilization until the moment of natural death,” House Bill 1232 reads. If approved, the proposed amendment will appear on the November ballot for voters to decide. —A.O.