Battleground for Abortion: This State’s Ballot Measure Will Determine Its Future as the Midwest’s ‘Abortion Factory’

Voters in five states head to the polls Tuesday for election primaries, but Kansans will also get to decide on a referendum that determines the future of abortion in the state. 

While pro-life candidate Donald Trump handily won the state of Kansas in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, the state has become a battleground for abortion rights activist in recent years. A 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court added a provision to the Kansas Constitutional Bill of Rights that allows women to decide “whether to continue a pregnancy.” Kansas has seen the “largest increase in the number of abortions in over 25 years, with the majority performed on out-of-state residents,” according to Kansans for Life. 

The Value Them Both Amendment alternatively provides Kansas the chance to decide if they wish their elected legislators to pass laws to regulate abortion and remove the concept of abortion as a constitutional right for Kansans. It would also prevent taxpayer dollars from being used for abortion. The proposed amendment reads as follows:

“§ 22. Regulation of abortion. Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.”

A vote against the measure would likely make Kansas a sanctuary state for late-term and taxpayer-funded abortion as bordering states have enacted restrictions on abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal. Dr. James Dobson, Founder and President of the James Dobson Family Institute, is one of many faith leaders to offer his endorsement to the amendment. Dobson regards the amendment as “essential to defend the progress the people of Kansas have made.” 

Not only would the new amendment offer protection to the unborn and prevent taxpayer-funded abortions, but it could also safeguard women from the pain and trauma that results from abortion. Justices in the 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling described a commonly utilized abortive procedure as “the safest procedure for second-trimester abortions.” However, a pro-life watchdog reported on two Maryland women who died in 2020 of injuries sustained from legally obtained abortions. The Value Them Both Amendment would afford legislators the ability to regulate abortions within Kansas, excepting situations where pregnancy resulted from rape, incest or the life of the mother is at stake. 

Kansas will become the first state in the nation to allow its registered voters to decide on the question of abortion rights, casting the Midwest state front and center in coverage of Tuesday’s primaries. Current abortion laws in Kansas allow abortion to be performed as late as 22 weeks, with the possibility of later stage abortions, should the Value Them Both Amendment fail to pass. A total of 6,830 abortions were performed in Kansas in 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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