The ballot measure is called Prohibit Abortion and Gender Transition Procedures for Minors Amendment.
Approving the ballot measure on Election Day would reverse Amendment 3, which codified abortion — “reproductive freedom” — in the Missouri Constitution in the 2024 election.
If approved, the new ballot measure would also prohibit gender transition surgeries, and body-altering hormones and drugs, on minors under age 18.
Proponents of the measure say the vote is neck-and-neck after faith leaders across the state have urged Christian believers to head to the polls.
Among them is Chris Williams, senior pastor of Fellowship Church in Greenwood and a former president of the Missouri Baptist Convention.
Williams told the "Washington Watch" program that defending the unborn is a core moral conviction.
"Every human life has dignity and value and worth,” he said. “And it's not because the government gives it to us. It's because our Creator does."
Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 by a margin of 51%-48% in 2024. That narrow victory was a difference of approximately 95,600 votes from 2.9 million cast.
Missouri has 114 counties across the state and the city of St. Louis. Amendment 3 was defeated in all but six counties, and St. Louis, in 2024.
Williams also emphasized churches must remain engaged in the public square, pushing back against critics who claim faith has no place in politics.
“If the church can't speak for the dignity of human life, if the church can't speak for the protection of children, what exactly are we to speak about?" he stressed.
