What voters will be voting for at the polls concerning the abortion amendment
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — For those who will be heading to the polls tomorrow, will be voting on an amendment to determine whether the Kansas Constitution should preserve a right to abortion upheld by a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling.
An article here by the Kansas City Beacon, outlines what is in the amendment, and how it came about. We urge you to read the full article before going to the polls tomorrow.
Kansas is the first state in the country since the overturning of Roe v. Wade to have abortion rights placed on a ballot. But the amendment was not directly involved with the U.S. Supreme Court decision. The Kansas state legislature put the amendment before voters prior to the U.S. ruling. The move was a response to a 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that said the Kansas state constitution protects abortion access up to 22 weeks.
Here is what your vote will do:
A vote yes: The amendment would insert language into the state constitution to say there is no right to an abortion in the constitution. This would clear the way for the Kansas Legislature to regulate abortion beyond what the state Supreme Court said is permissible under the law.
A vote no: This would be a vote against adding the language. Abortion would remain a protected right in the state constitution and abortion regulations in Kansas and would be subject to high level of legal scrutiny they are currently.
