The Missouri Senate on Wednesday approved House Joint Resolution 73 , which will put a near-total ban on abortion on the ballot in the November 2026 general election.

The resolution passed 21-11.

The vote followed a filibuster by Democrats , which Republicans ended using a process called PQ, or previous question. Two-thirds of the Senate must vote to approve the PQ, which forces a vote on the legislation at hand — which, in Thursday's case, was HJR 73.

The PQ is a move rarely used in the Missouri Senate. The last time it was implemented was in 2020.

HJR 73 will put a question on the November 2026 ballot asking Missourians to amend the state constitution to ban most abortions. The ban would allow exceptions in cases of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The passage of HJR 73 comes just over six months after Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment giving Missouri residents the right to an abortion up to the point of fetal viability.

Protests erupted after the vote, and the chamber had to be cleared.

Amendment 3

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November 51.6%-48.4%, and it's taken months for abortion to be accessible for Missourians. A temporary block on a licensing restriction for abortion providers cleared the way for the procedure to begin again in outpatient facilities in February.

The Columbia Planned Parenthood began performing procedural abortions at the beginning of March, and an emergency rule passed by state regulators has contributed to the continued unavailability of medication abortions .

Now, HJR 73 could all but overturn Amendment 3 if voters approve it in the 2026 midterm election. Kehoe could also send the ballot issue to a special election instead of putting it on the ballot in November 2026.

“Abortion rights won in this state six months ago, and mark my words: Missourians will protect reproductive freedom again,” Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said in a news release. “Abortion remains constitutionally protected in Missouri, and we'll knock on doors, speak with voters, and do what the legislature refused. We’ll let Missourians be heard."

The Planned Parenthood offices in mid-Missouri and St. Louis, Abortion Action Missouri, ACLU of Missouri, Action St. Louis Power Project and PROMO Missouri released a joint statement after the vote, calling HJR 73 a "direct assault on Missouri voters."

Tori Schafer, the director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri said HJR 73 is deceptive way of reinstating Missouri's abortion ban.

“This deceptive amendment is a trojan horse to reinstate Missouri’s total abortion ban and all the medically unnecessary restrictions that made access to abortion unattainable prior to the passage of the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative last November," Schafer said. "Missourians want honesty, respect, and access to abortion but HJR 73 is the antithesis to all of these values."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America celebrated the passage of HJR 3, saying it will "save lives, protect parents’ rights, and safeguard women and girls." The organization's president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said Missouri should look to other states as an example.

"Republicans in Missouri must be as devoted as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Pete Ricketts were in their 2024 ballot measure fights to explain the need to undo the amendment that is stripping away the most fundamental rights of babies, parents, women and girls," Dannenfelser said.