By NO on 3, Stop the Ban Coalition
JEFFERSON CITY — The NO on 3, Stop the Ban coalition kicked off the campaign to defeat the new Amendment 3 with a launch video and a virtual rally reminding Missourians that the politician-referred Amendment 3 would overturn the voter-approved Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, remove protections for Missourians to access birth control, prenatal care, IVF, and maternal health care, and ban abortion.
Over 100 attendees from across the state gathered online to hear from Missourians who experienced complications during pregnancy that required abortion care, faith leaders and from the organizations leading the fight against the new abortion ban and protect the voter-approved Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment.
“In summer of 2021, my family’s celebrations of the news of a planned pregnancy was cut short when I began experiencing unusual symptoms,” said Ashley, a Missourian who shared her personal experience with a pregnancy complication. “My husband and I were devastated to learn that I was experiencing a complication that required immediate termination. But the care I received then is what allowed us to complete our family of five. It was hard but I was able to make that decision together with my doctor and family, on my own terms as every Missourian should.
“In reality, anti-abortion politicians are putting our patients’ health and lives at risk,” said Dr. Iman Alsaden, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes advocate and chief medical officer for Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “As a physician, I’ve seen firsthand the harm of abortion bans, forcing patients’ conditions to worsen or to travel across state lines before they can receive care.”
Missouri faith leaders joined the rally to denounce the false claims from politicians who often use faith as a weapon to deny Missourians access to health care.
“I believe reproductive freedom is fundamentally about dignity, autonomy, and the ability for people to make deeply personal decisions about their future,” said Rabbi Doug Alpert. “Too often, anti-abortion politicians falsely claim to speak for people of faith. Many traditions, including my own, recognize the moral complexity of these decisions that are best left with patients, their families, and their health care provider. That’s why I am NO on 3.”
“This campaign is a reminder that stopping the Abortion ban affects all Missourians and all of us to fight back – we are in a struggle for freedom, for the right to decide for ourselves,” said Reverend Michelle Higgins. “Together, united across city, county, and state, faith communities, generations and identities, we the people have the power. And the people united can never be defeated.”
The spur of action comes just days after anti-abortion politicians placed the measure on the November 3rd general election ballot.
In 2024, Missourians voted to end the state’s abortion ban and protect access to birth control, prenatal care, IVF, and maternal health care and ban abortion by passing the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment. Since its passage, politicians have failed to update laws, defended unconstitutional laws in court, and are now forcing Missourians to vote again on abortion just two years later.
The No on 3, Stop the Ban Campaign is the coalition of grassroots Missouri organizations and volunteers committed to defending Missourians’ fundamental right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The coalition behind Stop The Ban Missouri includes Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri, Action St. Louis Power Project, Beacon Reproductive Health Network, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action, PROMO, and the Fairness Project.