Missouri Amendment 3: So-Called “Fact Checkers” are Wrong

(Jefferson City, Missouri) Thomas More Society attorneys are pushing back against the so-called “fact checkers” trying to cast doubt on the predictions of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Governor Mike Parson that proposed Amendment 3 would reverse the Show-Me State’s prohibition on gender transition surgeries for children, and other controversial procedures. The Thomas More Society has released a “decoder” document to highlight the legal principles that Missouri judges would be bound to apply when interpreting the proposal’s troubling open-ended language. Senior Counsel Mary Catherine Martin authored the piece to help voters read the amendment for themselves and understand its grave consequences. Martin argued before the Missouri Supreme Court in the lawsuit seeking to remove Amendment 3 from the ballot and she has been giving interviews across Missouri to educate voters on the amendment.

 

The document takes on the “fact checkers” by explaining that Hawley and Parsons are right, because Amendment 3’s new right to “all matters relating to reproductive health care” necessarily encompasses transgender interventions, including those for minor children. The Thomas More Society notes that statements from other sources, including the United States Office of Civil Rights, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Planned Parenthood, also support the Hawley/Parsons interpretation. The “decoder” further lays out how this understanding is supported by the plain text of the amendment and by Missouri Supreme Court precedent interpreting the words used in Amendment 3.

 

According to the “decoder,” Amendment 3’s removal of restrictions on “all matters relating to reproductive health care” would not just require Missouri courts to invalidate the state’s current prohibition on transgender surgeries for minors but similarly sanction all other reproductive technologies, including those yet to be discovered. It also highlights how the text of Amendment 3 makes the “right to reproductive freedom” a “super-right,” above every other right, even superseding the rights of parents to guide their children’s health care. And the “decoder” shows that the Missouri proposal is the most radical in the country, going far beyond merely removing regulations on abortion.

 

The “decoder” walks voters through the language in Amendment 3, which would disrupt Missouri’s laws requiring parental consent for minors receiving “reproductive health care,” prohibiting taxpayer funding for abortion, and allowing single-sex bathrooms and sports teams. The Thomas More Society encourages Missouri voters to interpret the actual text of the Amendment 3 proposal for themselves, to cut through political rhetoric and vote their ballot with informed confidence.

 

Download Decoding Missouri Amendment 3: A Guide to Understanding the Language of Missouri's Amendment 3 Ballot Initiative here.

 

Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Mary Catherine Martin is available for interviews about Amendment 3 and the Thomas More Society’s efforts to inform the public about this dangerous measure.