In 2024, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights up to fetal viability. The margin was close, but the decision belonged to the people. A year later, the Republican supermajority in the Missouri General Assembly put Amendment 3 on the November ballot to undo it.

Amendment 3 would bring back a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions. It would also write a ban on gender-affirming care for minors into the state constitution. Much of the Yes campaign’s messaging, from TV ads to yard signs, focuses on that second piece. But Missouri law already bans gender-affirming surgery, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. Supporters cite an August 2027 expiration date on the blocker and hormone ban, but lawmakers could handle that through ordinary legislation.

The campaign is hitting real families hard. A 2025 St. Louis University study found that 35% of parents of LGBTQ youth were considering leaving Missouri. According to the Missouri Independent, one St. Louis-area family is now saving money in case they ever feel they must leave the country with their daughter. Retired Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Wolff has called the campaign’s framing misleading.

Transgender Missourians are neighbors, classmates, coworkers and family. They should not be turned into a wedge to reverse a vote Missourians already took.

Governor Mike Kehoe, who has raised money for the Amendment 3 campaign, and leaders of the Missouri General Assembly should respect the 2024 result and stop using transgender kids to sell an abortion ban. Missouri voters can deliver that same message at the ballot box by voting No on 3.

Sign the petition to tell Missouri leaders to respect the 2024 vote and leave trans kids out of it, before Missourians head to the polls on November 3.