TOPEKA, Kansas — Lawmakers sent voters a state constitutional amendment Thursday that anti-abortion forces say Kansas needs to keep existing laws intact and that their opponents say could ultimately make abortions unattainable in the state.
The amendment, which supporters call Value Them Both, comes in response to a 2019 court ruling that said there is a right to abortion in the state constitution. The amendment would overturn that by changing the constitution to specifically say that it does not include a right to abortion and that lawmakers can regulate the procedure.
The Senate passage triggers a statewide vote in the August 2022 primary election. Approval by a simple majority of voters would put the language into the Kansas Constitution.
The House approved the amendment last week. The governor does not play a role in amending the Kansas Constitution, so Gov. Laura Kelly will not be able to block it. She has criticized the amendment because she said it will drive economic growth away from Kansas.
Supporters said voters should decide if the Supreme Court ruling was correct.
“Do you believe that the Kansas Supreme Court got it right when they said that our bill of rights, our Kansas Constitution, does provide a constitutional right to an abortion?” Republican Sen. Virgil Peck said during debate. “I, of course, think it does not.”
Debate over rewriting the constitution has either side speculating about what amending the constitution, or leaving it as is, might mean for abortion law in the state.
Supporters of the amendment, like the powerful advocacy group Kansans for Life, say the 2019 court ruling could be used to overturn abortion restrictions already in state law. That includes regulations on abortion providers, a ban on most abortions after 22 weeks and a requirement for parental consent if a minor seeks to end a pregnancy.
“Kansas has over 20 (laws regulating abortion) and we could lose all of them due to this ruling,” Republican Rep. Tory Marie Arnberger said during a debate in the House.
Republican Rep. Susan Humphries said it would even block lawmakers from approving health and safety regulations for abortion providers, such as requirements over sterilizing instruments.
“All those good regulations that protect women and babies,” she said, “when they’re challenged, they will be found to be unconstitutional.”
Abortion rights groups reject the idea that lawmakers somehow don’t have the power to regulate a clinic’s safety standards. Rather, they see danger in adding an anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. They argue it would open a path to an all-out abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that promises a federal right to abortion.
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Clayton points to Tennessee. It adopted a similar amendment and passed an abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy, although a court put that on hold.
“They’re saying it’s not a ban,” she said in an interview, “but if you look at other states that’s exactly where we’re headed.”
To Democratic Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, the entire effort is a misguided attempt to strip women of a right through the Legislature and a statewide ballot vote.
