Daniel Villarreal (he/him)November 4, 2026, 12:03 am ESTMissouri voters have rejected Amendment 3, a ballot measure which sought to permanently ban gender-affirming care for youth in the state while also repealing a 2024 voter-approved abortion-rights amendment .
Amendment 3 failed after getting only 44% of voter support, according to The Missouri Independent. Had it passed, it would have made most abortions illegal in the state, except for those that are conducted in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, and within the first 12 weeks of pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
The final clause in the measure would “prohibit gender transition procedures for minors,” which is curious, seeing as the state has banned gender-transition surgeries for minors since August 2023. The measure would also ban puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for minors.
Currently, state law forbids any new prescriptions of the aforementioned medications for trans youth until 2027; the measure would’ve written this ban into the state constitution, meaning it would continue indefinitely.
Sadly, the state’s Republican-led legislature will likely continue to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth indefinitely. However, the rejection of Amendment 3 at least shows that citizens still support access to abortion and reproductive healthcare.
Missouri rejects ballot measure to permanently ban gender-affirming care for trans youth
