Welcome to the Tuesday, May 20, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Missouri will become the first state where voters will decide whether to repeal an existing right-to-abortion constitutional amendment
- Montana becomes the fifth state to ban or restrict extreme risk protection orders
- On the Ballot examines this year’s statewide elections in Virginia
Missouri will become the first state where voters will decide whether to repeal an existing right-to-abortion constitutional amendment
On Nov. 3, 2026, Missouri voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would repeal Amendment 3, which added a fundamental right to reproductive freedom to the Missouri Constitution. This move will make Missouri the first state where voters will decide whether to repeal an existing right-to-abortion constitutional amendment.
Amendment 3, which Missouri voters approved 52% to 48% in 2024, defined reproductive freedom as “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.” The amendment allows the Missouri General Assembly to enact laws that regulate abortion after fetal viability, which is defined as “in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”
Missouri is one of 14 states that have decided on a state right-to-abortion constitutional amendment. The first three states to pass these amendments were California, Michigan, and Vermont in 2022, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Out of the 14 states, voters passed amendments in 11 and rejected amendments in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
The 2026 amendment would prohibit abortion, except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest. For cases of rape and incest, the abortion can only be performed before 12 weeks. It would prohibit abortions based on a fetal disability diagnosis, except in cases of fetal anomaly. According to the amendment text, it would also require parental or guardian consent for minors seeking an abortion and prohibit “fetal organ harvesting after an abortion.” The amendment text also states that “a woman’s ability to access health care in cases of miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other medical emergencies shall not be infringed by the state.”
The 2026 amendment would also prohibit gender transition surgeries for minors under 18 and prohibit the prescribing of cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs to minors under 18. This does not include the use of surgeries, drugs, or hormones to treat children born with medically verifiable disorders of sex development, or to treat any infection, injury, disease, or disorder unrelated to the purpose of gender transition. This would be the first statewide ballot measure prohibiting gender transition surgeries for minors or the prescription of the medications noted above to minors.
State Sen. Brad Hudson (R), who supports the measure, said, “From constituents and individuals that I’ve been talking to about this issue, they want another opportunity to weigh in on this. They don’t feel like that they were given an option in Amendment 3 that accurately reflects who they are and where they are on the life issue.”
Margot Riphagen, who heads Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action, said, “The majority of Missourians want to make their own decisions about health care without interference from prying politicians … We will not stand for more political games at the expense of the thousands of patients in Missouri who could finally access care they need without crossing state lines. Missouri voters will once again send a clear message that enough is enough.”
Click here for more information about the Missouri Prohibit Abortion and Gender Transition Procedures for Minors Amendment.
Montana becomes the fifth state to ban or restrict extreme risk protection orders
On May 8, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed House Bill 809, banning local governments in the state from enacting or enforcing extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs).
The Republican-sponsored bill passed the Montana Legislature largely along party lines, but two Republicans in both the Montana House of Representatives and the Montana Senate voted against the bill.
The law states that “a local government may not: enact, adopt, or implement a resolution, ordinance, rule, regulation, or policy that would have the effect of enforcing an extreme risk protection order against a resident of the state; or (b) accept a grant or other source of funding for the purpose of aiding in the adoption, implementation, or enforcement of an extreme risk protection order.”
Montana is now the fifth state to ban or restrict the use of ERPOs, joining Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Oklahoma became the first state to enact such a law in 2020. All five states had a Republican trifecta at the time.
Twenty-one states have laws authorizing courts to issue ERPOs. These laws typically allow family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to petition a court to restrict an individual’s access to firearms when it is believed the individual is a threat to themselves or others. Michigan and Minnesota were the most recent states to adopt ERPO laws, doing so in 2023.
State Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R), who sponsored the bill, said, “This is a commonsense measure to make sure individuals are not [deprived] of their ability to keep and bear arms without due process.”
State Rep. John Fitzpatrick (R), who opposed the law, said, “This is not a second amendment right bill, this is another piece of legislation just like we had yesterday, where the second amendment is being waved as a flag for the specific purpose of protecting people who engage in criminal activity.”
The bill includes an exception for confiscating firearms related to protective orders requested by one individual against another and granted by a judge, as provided for in Title 40, Chapter 15 of state law.
Click here for more information on state legislatures that have enacted laws regarding ERPOs.
On the Ballot examines this year’s statewide elections in Virginia
In this episode of On the Ballot, our new host, Norm Leahy, and the Virginia Scope‘s Brandon Jarvis will give you an in-depth look at this year’s statewide elections in Virginia.
Although elections happen in the Old Dominion every year, the 2025 contests are shaping up to be especially interesting. With races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates, the state is once again a key barometer for national political sentiment.
We’ll unpack why these elections matter beyond state lines—from Abigail Spanberger‘s (D) strategy and Winsome Earle-Sears‘ (R) fundraising blitz to the GOP’s internal deliberations. We’ll also explore everything from the effect of redistricting and union politics to the controversy surrounding the Republican ticket and what Virginia voters’ choices might say about the national mood heading into 2026. To listen to this episode and more, click here. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app. Finally, make sure to click here to learn more about the new host of On the Ballot, Norm Leahy.