Election day in Missouri saw many issues on the ballot this year, none of which were more controversial than Amendment 3. The amendment reverses a decision made by the Missouri Legislature soon after the overturning of Roe v Wade to ban most abortions in the state.
The official ballot language read: “The government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to carry out decisions about 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.”
According to the Missouri Secretary of State, unofficial results have 52% of Missourians voting yes on the amendment and 48% voting no. Local Democrats and Republicans had very different reactions to the measure being passed.
Lynsey Strahan, a local voter who attended the Greene County Democrat's watch party in Springfield Tuesday night said, “I’m really thrilled for what this means for reproductive health in Missouri. I have so many friends who have particular health challenges, and their life has been put at risk with this legislation, and it means women will have choice and freedom.”
Clay Palen, a local voter who attended the Greene County Republican's watch party in Springfield Tuesday said, “it’s really upsetting. That really hurts for a lot of lives that we’ll never know,” Palen stated. “Thats upsetting but we have to continue to work in the right direction.”
Another attendee of the Republican watch party who asked to remain anonymous stated, “basically the people have spoken at the end of the day. Obviously, I would not be for that,” they said. “I believe there is a lot of deception that was thrown into the bill that, had people known was in it, they would not have voted for it.”
Supporters of Amendment 3 in Missouri raised over $30 million dollars.