Although Amendment 3 passed, it does not mean that abortion access has been explicitly restored. Abortion rights advocates have to sue the state of Missouri to overturn the ban; a lawsuit has been filed in Jackson County.

Missouri is the most populous state where a ballot measure could roll back a current ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy.

When Missouri on Tuesday became the first state to overturn a near-total abortion ban by the vote of the people, Desiree White cried happy tears. Twenty-five years earlier, she and her husband chose to terminate a pregnancy they very much wanted after they received a diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality.