Missouri’s Legal Coup Against the People

Last November, the people of Missouri amended the state constitution to restore the right for women to make private medical decisions without government interference. That right is now enshrined in the state’s highest law.

Or so we thought.

For a brief moment, the change was real. The passage of Amendment 3 meant abortion access was legal again. But last week, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the state’s old abortion bans — now unconstitutional — are still enforceable.

Let that sink in: outdated laws are being used to override the Constitution.

Because those laws were already “on the books,” the Court claims they remain valid unless someone individually challenges each one in court. This isn’t how constitutional rights are supposed to work. Are people guilty unless they hire expensive lawyers to prove they have rights?

It sets a dangerous precedent: even if voters amend the Constitution, their rights can still be denied through delay and technicalities, while unconstitutional laws continue to function as weapons of the state.

And that’s exactly what Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is counting on. He’s flooding the courts with appeals and procedural roadblocks, not to uphold justice, but to obstruct it. Every day his tactics succeed, Missourians are denied rights they already secured at the ballot box.

It wasn’t always like this.

When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, many states still had laws banning women from voting. But the moment the Constitution changed, those laws were void. No waiting. No excuses. When Maryland tried to argue otherwise, the U.S. Supreme Court shut it down in Leser v. Garnett (1922). The Court affirmed a simple truth: constitutional amendments override state law. Period.

Missouri’s leaders today are ignoring that truth. They’re not upholding the Constitution; they’re undermining it. They aren’t following history; they’re disregarding it and writing their own. Why? Because they can.

Those in power shamelessly demonstrate that they can disregard people’s constitutional rights, and they dare you to stop them. Your right to vote, to speak freely, to organize, to love who you love, even your right to bear arms, are at risk. If constitutional rights are optional, then none of your basic rights are safe.

This fight isn’t just legal. It’s moral.

The question is simple: Are we governed by the consent of the governed, or by those who don’t give a damn what we consent to?

Missouri’s democracy is breaking down in plain sight.

Stand up. Speak out. Fight back. When the final chapter of this era is written, where will your name be?