Cole County judge strikes down language in 2026 reproductive rights ballot issue
Matthew Sanders
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Cole County judge on Friday ruled that language for a measure placed on the November 2026 ballot by Republican legislators was unconstitutional, ordering the state to go back to the drawing board.
Judge Daniel Green ruled in favor of Anna Fitz-James in her lawsuit against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, House Speaker Jonathan Patterson and Moberly-area Sen. Ed Lewis. Fitz-James sued in July, claiming on three separate counts that the language approved by the Missouri General Assembly did not comply with constitutional requirements.
The ballot issue would roll back protections in Amendment 3, which was approved in November 2024 with 51.6% of the vote.
Green sided with Hoskins and legislators on the first count. But he ruled on the other two that the ballot language was “insufficient and unfair.”
The judge agreed with Fitz-James that the ballot language failed to alert voters to what the amendment would change in the constitution.
ORDER AND PARTIAL JUDGMENTDownload
The ruling now sends the issue back to Hoskins, who is charged by state law with drafting a new, sufficient and fair summary statement, Green wrote. A new statement is due to the court within seven days of Friday’s order and the case remains open, Green wrote.
Fitz-James is represented by the ACLU and other groups.
“In response to a legislative ban on abortion, hundreds of thousands of Missourians exercised their right to use the citizen-led ballot measure to establish a new fundamental right to reproductive freedom in our constitution last November,” Tori Schafer, director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement emailed to ABC 17 News. “While we are pleased that the judge saw through the legislature’s deceitful language, the fight does not end here. Elected officials have a duty to provide Missourians with accurate information on their ballots, and we are holding them accountable as Amendment 3 reinstates the abortion ban and overturns the reproductive freedom voters secured last year.”
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office supported the decision.
“Today’s ruling is a clear win for Missourians. The Court upheld HJR 73 on the central constitutional issues and confirmed it contains a single subject. Our Office is confident the Secretary of State will revise the ballot summary so voters receive fair, accurate language on this important amendment,” the office wrote in a statement.
MO Protects was not enthused with the ruling.
“MO Protects is deeply disappointed in Judge Green’s ruling striking down the summary language for the pro-life amendment. This decision is yet another example of constant judicial intrusion into the legislative process,” the group said in a statement. “The people of Missouri elect representatives to write laws and present measures for the ballot, and time after time those efforts are second-guessed and obstructed by the courts. Missourians deserve straightforward ballot language and the opportunity to decide for themselves. It should not be the role of a judge to interfere with that process or to tip the scales in favor of abortion activists. MO Protects will continue working to ensure that voters are given a fair, honest choice at the ballot box.”