Missouri voters on Tuesday resoundingly approved an amendment to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban, making it the first state to do so in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated federal constitutional protection of abortion. The passage of Amendment 3, which enshrines reproductive rights in the state constitution, signals the potential to begin restoring access to health care in a swath of the country that has become an abortion desert.
“The people of Missouri — be they Democrat, Republican, or independent — have resoundingly declared that they don’t want politicians involved in their private medical decisions,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the umbrella organization for the Yes on 3 campaign.
Taking the wins where I can, today…
This is normal shit in Missouri. The state voted for medicinal and eventually recreational marijuana. But then they sent people to state legislature and offices who vehemently opposed it. Can’t remember which type it was, but IIRC, the courts had to step in to force the state to license dispensaries and grow ops and such.
They voted lobbying and redistricting reform. But then they sent pols who absolutely didn’t want it. This time, the pols got their way and lobbying and redistricting reform went away before it ever got put into practice.
Every so often, the GOP-controlled legislature sends RTW legislation to the people. The people reject it time and time again, but they don’t reject the people in the legislature who keep bringing it up time and time again.
So I was super confident that Amendment 3 in MO would pass, based on past results. But I was also super confident Trump, Hawley (fuck Josh Hawley), and a multitude of other GOPers would be voted in. Based on past results.
Because Missouri makes no fucking sense.