Activists sound alarm on Missouri abortion amendment: ‘Infinitely more than abortion’

Pro-life activists and leaders in Missouri are sounding the alarm about a sweeping amendment they say would not only result in unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, but would also "go way beyond abortion" and enshrine transgender surgeries on children.  

The amendment is titled the "Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative," or simply "Amendment 3." 

According to the ballot’s description of the amendment, a vote in favor "establishes a constitutional right to make decisions about reproductive health car … and allows abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman."

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Pro-choice activists participate in the "Rally for Our Freedom" in Orlando, Florida, on April 13, 2024. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Advocates for the amendment, which include Planned Parenthood and ACLU of Missouri, claim that the measure will simply reverse the state’s current abortion law, which, except in cases of medical emergency, bans the procedure starting at conception. 

However, opponents say the amendment is so vague that it leaves the door open to an array of abuses, including allowing transgender surgeries on children. 

"This is a massive train bearing down on Missouri," Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital. 

Holding up a copy of the amendment’s language, Martin said the measure is significantly longer than other abortion amendments being considered across the country. 

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Pro-life advocates demonstrate prior to an Arizona House of Representatives session at the state Capitol on April 17, 2024, in Phoenix. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Another opponent of the amendment, Cassidy Anderson, who helps lead a political action committee called "Vote No on 3," told Fox News Digital that because the amendment does not define "reproductive health care" or set an age limit, it can easily be used as a legal justification for sex change surgeries on children. 

"You would think in an initiative that is being advertised as a women's health care initiative... would say the word ‘woman’ somewhere in the ballot language," she said. "It never says the word woman, it refers to persons. It doesn't define age. It doesn't define sex. It doesn't define anything."

Anderson’s group has devoted around $3 million to urge Missourians to reject the amendment. Vote No on 3 took in another $1.7 million at the end of October. However, she said they are facing an uphill battle with the other side receiving around $75 million from outside entities like George Soros and Michael Bloomberg. 

"What does Michael Bloomberg have to do with Missouri politics? But that's what we're up against," she said. 

President Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Trump attend the annual commemoration ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Sept. 11, 2024, in Manhattan.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Because of this outside funding, Anderson said the amendment’s supporters have been able to outpace her group four-to-one in terms of ad buys. 

Despite this, she said polling on the issue is showing a "really close split."  

Several prominent Republicans in the state, including Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawley, have also spoken out against the amendment. 

Hawley told Fox News Digital, "Amendment 3 goes way beyond abortion – it would constitutionally protect transgender surgeries for minors without parental consent."

"That’s beyond extreme. And it’s wrong for Missouri," said Hawley.

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