President Joe Biden applauded the decision: “Kansasians used their voices to protect women’s right to choice and access to reproductive health care”
Kansas has decided to uphold the right to abortion in the first popular consultation on the issue since the United States Supreme Court ended federal right to that proceeding in June. This conservative state in the Midwestern United States rejected an amendment known as “Value Them Both,” which would have eliminated this constitutional right.
The vote is being seen across the country as a test as Republican-dominated lawmakers rush to impose strict abortion bans following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
Abortion rights advocates celebrated the victory. “I’m beside myself,” confessed Anne Melia, a volunteer for the pro-abortion campaign. Shortly after polls closed, Scott Schwab, who oversaw the Kansas election, stated that the turnout was at least 50%, a figure expected for this type of election, local media reported.
President Joe Biden welcomed the decision. “Kansasians used their voices to protect women’s right to choice and access to reproductive health care,” she wrote on Twitter.
“This is a major victory for Kansas, but also for any American who believes women should be able to make their own health decisions without government intervention,” she tweeted. In a separate statement, he urged Congress to “listen to the will of the American people” and pass a bill codifying abortion rights.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, will vote on the issue in November, along with midterm elections, in which both Republicans and Democrats hope to rally abortion supporters across the country.
Activists saw the amendment as an attempt to pave the way for an outright ban. A state legislator has already passed a bill to ban abortion without exception, be it rape, incest or risk to the mother’s life.
While Kansas abortion rights advocates can breathe a sigh of relief in their own state, they still look nervously at neighboring Oklahoma and Missouri, which have almost completely banned abortions, while Indiana has many restrictions.
“Kansas stood up for fundamental rights today,” tweeted state governor Laura Kelly. “We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future and jeopardized women’s access to health,” he added.
A 2021 Fort Hays State University survey found that fewer than 20% of respondents in that state agreed that abortion should be illegal, even in cases of rape or incest.
Source: La Verdad
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