Kansas upholds Abortion Rights even though the ballot question was designed to be confusing

Supporters of Value Them Both, a constitutional amendment that would remove language guaranteeing the right to an abortion from the Kansas Constitution, rally before campaigning in Shawnee on July 30. Caitlin Wilson / AFP - Getty Images

Matthew 18:14 “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Kansans vote to uphold abortion rights in their state
  • The proposed amendment was the first time anywhere in the U.S. that voters cast ballots on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
  • A ballot question, known as the “Value Them Both Amendment,” asked voters to decide whether the state’s constitution should continue to protect abortion rights. The proposed amendment would have removed language that guarantees reproductive rights and asked voters if they would prefer to put the issue of abortion in the hands of the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature
  • Roger Marshall, R-Kan., called Tuesday’s results “an enormous blow to efforts to protect the sanctity of life in Kansas.”
  • Abortion in Kansas is legal up until about the 22nd week of pregnancy,
  • Expressed concern that the ballot measure featured language they argued was intentionally designed to confuse voters. For example, the language used on the ballot said that a “yes” vote on the question would affirm that “the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion” — even though no such requirement exists — “and does not create or secure a right to abortion.” A “yes” vote would have affirmed that “the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion,” something lawmakers are limited in doing now based on a 2019 court ruling.

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