Overview

• Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green found the Legislature’s summary unfair and insufficient because it failed to state the proposal would repeal the 2024 Amendment 3 abortion-rights provision.
• The judge kept the proposed constitutional amendment on track for a public vote, with the measure likely to appear in November 2026 unless Gov. Mike Kehoe schedules an earlier election.
• He directed the secretary of state’s office to submit a new summary and revised “fair ballot language” within seven days, after which parties will have three days to respond.
• Green rejected a bid to throw out the measure for combining abortion restrictions with limits on gender-affirming care for minors, ruling the topics fit a single subject under reproductive health care.
• If approved, the amendment would reinstate a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions and prohibit gender-transition surgeries, hormone treatments and puberty blockers for minors.