Missouri voters on Tuesday resoundingly approved an amendment to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban, making it the first state to do so in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated federal constitutional protection of abortion. The passage of Amendment 3, which enshrines reproductive rights in the state constitution, signals the potential to begin restoring access to health care in a swath of the country that has become an abortion desert.

“The people of Missouri — be they Democrat, Republican, or independent — have resoundingly declared that they don’t want politicians involved in their private medical decisions,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the umbrella organization for the Yes on 3 campaign.

Taking the wins where I can, today…