Missouri voters will decide Tuesday whether to repeal a 2024 constitutional amendment protecting reproductive health care, including abortion access through fetal viability. The outcome could affect some Arkansas residents who travel across the state line to obtain abortions.
Missouri Amendment 3, formally described as the Prohibit Abortion and Gender Transition Procedures for Minors Amendment, would replace the protections approved by Missouri voters last year. The measure would permit abortions in cases of rape or incest through 12 weeks of pregnancy, as well as during medical emergencies and in cases involving fetal anomalies.
The amendment also would authorize Missouri lawmakers to pass additional abortion regulations and would require parental consent for minors seeking abortions. Separately, it would prohibit gender-transition procedures for minors.
Access across the state line
For many Arkansas residents, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers’ facility in Springfield, Missouri, became the closest location offering procedural abortions after the organization announced the service in August. Springfield is closer for some Arkansans than providers in other states.
Arkansas law prohibits abortion except when it is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman during a medical emergency. The Arkansas Human Life Protection Act was signed in 2019 and took full effect in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the decision that had protected abortion access subject to state regulations.
- Arkansas law allows abortion only to save the life of a pregnant woman during a medical emergency.
- Missouri Amendment 3 would allow abortion for rape or incest through 12 weeks, during medical emergencies and for fetal anomalies.
- Some Arkansas residents use out-of-state providers because abortion is generally prohibited in Arkansas.
Because abortion is generally prohibited in Arkansas, residents seeking to legally obtain one must travel outside the state. Until this year, the Planned Parenthood Pittsburg Health Center in Pittsburg, Kansas, was the closest option for many Arkansas residents, according to AbortionFinder.org, which tracks abortion providers and support services across the United States.
The Missouri measure is on the ballot for Tuesday’s election. Its provisions address both abortion and medical procedures for minors, while its abortion provisions would establish exceptions and a regulatory framework different from Arkansas’ current law.
