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JEFFERSON CITY 鈥� A ballot question to repeal Missouri鈥檚 new right to abortion won final approval Thursday in the Missouri House 鈥� but with a notable thumbs-down from the chamber鈥檚 Republican leader.

House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee鈥檚 Summit, said after the 103-51 vote that he didn鈥檛 think his constituents back home would support the measure. He was the only Republican to vote against the resolution Thursday.

The Republican response to last year鈥檚 Amendment 3 now moves to the Senate for consideration with four weeks left in the legislative session.

鈥淭he 鈥榥o鈥� vote for me was very easy,鈥� Patterson said afterward. 鈥淚 think we all come here and we鈥檙e all sent to represent our districts, our 38,000 people that we represent.鈥�

The Republican said he wasn鈥檛 reconsidering his speakership after the vote.

鈥淭his makes me actually very happy that I鈥檓 the speaker of this 鈥� the Republican conference, because we allow people to not always go with where everybody else is,鈥� Patterson said.

Patterson, before the Nov. 5 election in which voters enacted Amendment 3, said legislators should respect the will of the people 鈥渁nd we will.鈥�

After the election, Patterson endorsed work on a response to Amendment 3 amid a challenge for speaker from state Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, who had criticized Patterson as too moderate.

The ballot question approved Thursday would allow abortion in cases of fetal anomaly and in medical emergencies, as well as in rape or incest cases up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

It doesn鈥檛 explicitly ban all other abortions, but repealing Amendment 3 would clear the way for additional restrictions.

Amendment 3, approved by 51.6% of the voters, created the constitutional right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability and allows abortion after that in certain situations.

Despite voting against it, Patterson defended the GOP approach: 鈥淭aking something to the voters another time isn鈥檛 really subverting the will of the voters.鈥�

鈥淲e accept it as the law of the land. We accept it as the will of the people. Right now, we鈥檙e just taking the democratic process,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he people that disagree with Amendment 3 also have the opportunity to have their voices heard,鈥� Patterson said.

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said people worked for months 鈥渢irelessly gathering twice as many signatures as we needed to鈥� get Amendment 3 on the ballot, and noted that it passed in a majority of House districts.

Democrats also slammed as deceptive the proposed ballot language voters would see, which doesn鈥檛 say that the question would repeal Amendment 3.

Currently Missouri courts can rewrite lawmaker-written ballot language that is judged to be unfair and insufficient in violation of state law.

But, earlier this week, House Republicans sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe a bill that would limit the courts鈥� ability to rewrite ballot language that a judge had determined violated state law.

鈥淭his is not democracy in action. This is authoritarianism in action,鈥� Aune said.

Asked about the speaker鈥檚 鈥渘o鈥� vote, the Democratic leader called Patterson, a surgeon, a 鈥渜ualified medical professional who understands this issue probably better than most people in his caucus.鈥�

She said she wished that Patterson 鈥渨as able to convince the zealots and the folks who are afraid of the grassroots to be a little bit braver today.鈥�

Patterson said 鈥渁 number of statutory things鈥� would have to happen after passage of the new abortion ballot question.

As an example, he cited the term 鈥渇etal anomaly鈥� that is used in the bill.

Fetal anomaly is defined in the bill as 鈥渁 structural or functional abnormality in the unborn child鈥檚 gestational development that would make life outside the womb impossible.鈥�

Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, previously said the language wouldn鈥檛 allow for an exception in the case of anencephaly, a condition severely affecting skull and brain development where the child is expected to survive for only a short time after birth.

Patterson said fetal anomaly is 鈥渒ind of defined in there, but when you鈥檙e talking about fetal anomalies, I would rather call it a devastating fetal condition.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking any number of developmental abnormalities that really lead to severe defects in the child that they wouldn鈥檛 survive outside the womb,鈥� Patterson said.

鈥淚f you look at a state like Louisiana, they have those enumerated,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚 think you would see something along those lines.

He raised concern about the 12-week time limit for abortion that was included in rape cases.

He said if a rape victim finds out they鈥檙e pregnant at seven weeks, they would need to first deal with that trauma and then decide whether to proceed with the pregnancy.

Other hurdles such as getting in for a doctor鈥檚 appointment and taking off work for the procedure would remain, Patterson said.

鈥淲e have said that 鈥� that if you鈥檝e been raped, an abortion, we can accept that,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚 think a debate that we should have and I hope happens in the Senate is 鈥� is 12 weeks long enough?鈥�

The legislation is Hous