Residents of the state of Kansas voted in favor of maintaining the right to abortion, in the first popular consultation on the subject since the Supreme Court of the United States ended the federal right to that procedure in June.
In Tuesday’s vote, the conservative Midwestern state rejected a known amendment that would have eliminated the state’s constitutional right with the aim of returning to the legislators the regulation of the procedure.
This amendment, known as Values Both (to the mother and the baby), had been introduced in the state Legislature, dominated by Republicans, by a group of legislators.
The vote was widely seen as a test for abortion rights across the country, as Republican-dominated legislatures rush to impose strict bans on the procedure following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. of 1973, which guaranteed that right.
Abortion rights advocates celebrated the victory. “I’m beside myself,” confessed Anne Melia, a volunteer for the pro-abortion campaign.
Moments after the polls closed, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who oversaw the election, declared that participation was at least 50%an expected figure for this type of election, local media reported.
President Joe Biden applauded the decision. “Kansasians used their voices to protect women’s right to choose and access to reproductive health care,” she wrote Tuesday night on Twitter.
“This is an important victory for Kansas, but also for every American who believes women should be able to make their own health decisions without government interference,” she tweeted.
Tonight, Kansans used their voices to protect women’s right to choose and access reproductive health care.
It’s an important victory for Kansas, but also for every American who believes that women should be able to make their own health decisions without government interference.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 3, 2022
In a separate statement, he urged Congress to “listen to the will of the American people” and pass a bill codifying the right to abortion.
other statesas California y Kentucky, will vote on the issue in November, in conjunction with the midterm congressional elections, in which both Republicans and Democrats hope to mobilize supporters across the country around abortion. Kansas activists saw the amendment as an attempt to clear the way for an outright ban.
A state legislator has already introduced a bill to ban abortion without exception, whether for rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother. For Ashley All, spokesperson for the pro-abortion Kanseños for Constitutional Freedom campaign, Tuesday’s election result was “remarkable.” “Kansas understood that this amendment would require the government to control private medical decisions,” she said.
While abortion rights advocates in Kansas could breathe a sigh of relief in their own state, they still look nervously at neighboring states of Oklahoma and Missouri, which have almost completely banned abortions, while in Indiana there are many restrictions. “Kansas stood up for fundamental rights today,” tweeted state Governor Laura Kelly. “We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future and put women’s access to healthcare at risk,” she added.
Kansas result involves upholding a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that guarantees access to abortion until the 22nd week of gestation. Kansas tends to support the Republican Party, which favors stricter regulation of abortion.
A 2021 Fort Hays State University survey found that less than 20% of respondents in that state agreed that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.
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