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POLITICS AND POLICY July 8, 2022
Kansas Will Be the First State to Vote on Abortion Rights, Post Roe v. Wade Reversal
By Tess Bonn
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The August primary is garnering attention across the country.
The U.S. has officially entered a new era of abortion rights — President Biden signed an executive order protecting reproductive access, including contraceptives.
Now, an upcoming primary in Kansas will mark the first statewide test of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On August 2nd, Kansas voters will head to the polls to vote on an amendment, known as Value Them Both, which would reverse abortion rights protected under the state constitution. The impending special election now has some experts seeing it as a bellwether for how abortion rights resonate as an issue ahead of the midterm elections.
“The vote on the amendment in Kansas will be a start to us figuring out as a nation what we think about abortion,” Neal Allen, a political science professor at Wichita State University, told KCM.
Since there hasn’t been any recent public polling on the amendment, the primary outcome remains very much up in the air. After all, Kansas isn’t as conservative as some might think — the state is currently led by Democratic governor Laura Kelly. It has also long been a battleground for abortion rights in light of the death of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, who was gunned down inside a church in Wichita, Kansas more than a decade ago.
Here’s what we know about the primary that has been gaining national attention.
What the amendment means for abortion rights
The Value Them Both amendment would overturn a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling finding that the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights, and explicitly declare that the government “does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.” As it currently stands, Kansas allows for abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Micah Kubic, the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, says this latest amendment isn’t anything new, pointing to previous attempts by the GOP-controlled legislature over the last two decades to pull back on abortion rights. Even though Kansas isn’t considered as socially conservative as neighboring states like Missouri and Oklahoma, Neal says the Republican majority in the state government makes the amendment a “clear favorite” to pass.
Voters will have the final say
But the outcome is still far from certain: Past polling suggests that Kansas voters aren’t staunchly anti-abortion, and they do see some gray on the issue. For instance, a February 2022 poll from Fort Hays State University found that more than 60 percent of state residents opposed banning abortion under all circumstances, including rape or incest.
It’s important to note that this poll didn’t consider the latest amendment, or that this vote would be held during an August primary that has historically had low voter turnout, compared to the November general election. “Most people aren’t used to voting in August and I think a lot of people are still unaware that we’re even about to have this vote,” says Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas.
The timing of the Supreme Court’s recent decision could make an impact, though: Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman told PBS News that his office has seen more than 1,000 advance mail ballots and new voter registration.
What would happen if the amendment passes?
If the amendment ends up passing, Kubic says this would open the door for Republican lawmakers to pass more stringent restrictions or ban abortions altogether, something he says the ACLU and other abortion-rights advocates intend to fight.
“We shouldn’t be amending the constitution to restrict peoples’ rights,” he says. “It’s inconsistent with our values as Americans and deeply dangerous.”
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