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Kansas voters mark abortion’s first electoral test in a post-Roe nation on Tuesday as they head to the polls to weigh in on a statewide referendum to determine the procedure’s future.
The ballot measure, which has put the unassuming state at the center of the issue, offers the public its first chance to vote on abortion since the Supreme Court reversed its Roe v. Wade decision and sent the decision back to the states in June. It is widely viewed as a bellwether for abortion’s future in Kansas – and beyond.
The so-called “Value Them Both” amendment would effectively strip the state’s Constitution of an understood right to abortion after the state Supreme Court in 2019 found that a right to the procedure was guaranteed as an extension of the state’s protection of a right to personal autonomy.
It comes to Kansas – a conservative state that polling suggests is deeply divided over the issue – as restrictions on abortion have grown steadily closer to its borders in recent years, dominoing in the state’s direction and culminating in near-total bans or plans to severely restrict the procedure in all but one of its neighboring states in recent months. Accordingly, the Sunflower State has in recent years become a haven for abortion – however unlikely.
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The ballot measure has proven to be a contentious one, generating massive interest and spending from both sides of the issue. Its passage would perhaps signal the public’s political will to further restrict access to the procedure, while its failure may point to a weakness among the anti-abortion movement’s plans to outlaw the procedure since achieving the decades-long fight in June to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Importantly, the vote will not make abortion illegal, but it may open the door for the state legislature – which at present is controlled by Republicans – to ban the procedure.
State lawmakers have tried in recent years to institute abortion restrictions, even ahead of Roe’s fall. But the state’s Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has been a reliable stopgap for abortion restrictions, vetoing efforts to implement restrictions that would limit access to the procedure statewide.
The legislature’s move to put the proposal on the ballot went beyond Kelly’s veto powers.
“I’ve always believed that every woman’s reproductive decisions should be left to her, her family and her physician,” Kelly said when the legislation began circulating in the state legislature. “While I know others do not share my belief, I don’t think those supporting this amendment are aware of the consequences it will have for the state of Kansas and our reputation.”
And Kelly’s status as a failsafe for proponents of abortion access could also come to an end this year, as she faces reelection and is widely considered to be one of the most endangered Democratic incumbents.
The vote in Kansas, although it was planned ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe, has taken on new significance in a country that just recently did away with guaranteed access to the procedure, and comes as the nation has been gripped by intense debate over abortion since the high court overturned the landmark case earlier this summer. According to Gallup polling, more than 80% of Americans believe abortion should be legal to some degree, and a majority did not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.