Kansas voters will consider a life-saving constitutional amendment on the ballot Aug. 2 that would prevent abortion activists from pushing late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions on the state.
The “Value Them Both” amendment is especially critical after the Kansas Supreme Court found a so-called “right to abortion” in their state constitution in 2019. The ruling jeopardizes Kansas laws that protect women and babies.
“Without this amendment, even barbaric late-term abortions will be allowed,” said Harrison Butker, kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, in an ad supporting the amendment. “This amendment will let Kansans decide what we do on abortions, not judges and not D.C. politicians.”
The pro-life amendment would add language to the Kansas Constitution stating that there is no right to an abortion or taxpayer-funded abortion. Although it would not ban the killing of unborn babies in abortions, it would allow the voter-elected state legislature to do so.
If the amendment passes, Jeanne Gawdun, director of government relations for Kansans for Life, told KSNT that one of their first priorities will be to ban brutal second-trimester dismemberment abortions that kill nearly fully formed unborn babies.
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Gawdun said voters must be allowed to “have a say” on abortion, especially taxpayer-funded abortions and late-term abortions. Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose both, but some states are forced through court orders to allow such things and Kansans fear the 2019 ruling in their state could be used to do exactly that.
Reuters reports both sides are actively campaigning in the state, running ads and doing door-to-door canvassing to encourage voters to support or oppose the measure.
Here’s more from the report:
Wichita State University political science professor Neal Allen expects the amendment to pass, but the 29% of registered voters unaffiliated with a political party, including many young people, could prove critical to opponents’ chances.
“I think this amendment will win or lose based upon the level of turnout of younger Kansans who don’t necessarily like the Democratic Party but want to defend abortion rights,” Allen said.
But pro-abortion groups spending a lot of money to defeat the amendment, including through a group called the Kansans For Constitutional Freedom.
There also have been numerous crimes recently targeting the pro-life side, including a man allegedly setting fire to “Value Them Both” materials and vandalizing the Cowley County GOP office in Winfield, according to Fox News.
The reports include:
- Derby Neighborhood Fence, Mural Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (KAKE)
- Overland Park Catholic Church Vandalized with “My Body My Choice” after Speaking Out for Life (Kansas City Star)
- Salina Police Cite Woman for Damaging Pro-Life “Vote Yes” Signs at 8 Locations (Salina Journal)
- Cowley County GOP Office in Winfield Vandalized, Pro-Life Materials Lit on Fire (Fox News)
- Pro-Life Yard Signs Ripped Apart, Stolen at Multiple Homes Ahead of Pro-Life Amendment Vote (Value Them Both campaign) (more at KSNT)
To amend the Kansas Constitution, the state legislature must approve the amendment language by a two-thirds majority and then a majority of voters must approve it on the ballot.
Pro-life organizations in Kansas are working together to support the Value Them Both amendment, including Kansans for Life, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, the Kansas Catholic Conference and Concerned Women for America of Kansas.
The 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt threatens all existing limits on abortion in the state. Without the amendment, Kansas could become the “wild west of the abortion industry,” said Brittany Jones, Esq., director of advocacy for the Family Police Alliance of Kansas, last year. This could mean forcing taxpayers to fund elective abortions and allowing unrestricted abortions up to birth, as well as ending informed consent requirements and parental consent for minors.
In several states, courts have found a so-called “right to abortion” in their state constitutions. The rulings have been used to force taxpayers to fund abortions and restrict the state legislature from passing even minor, common sense abortion restrictions. In 2018, West Virginia voters passed a similar state constitutional amendment after decades of being forced by a court ruling to fund elective abortions with their tax dollars.
