The landslide victory for abortion rights in a Kansas primary election this month was the first direct expression of voter sentiment on the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion in June.
Even abortion rights supporters were surprised by the large majority of voters in conservative Kansas who rejected a GOP-backed state constitutional amendment that would have said there is no right to an abortion in the state. Adopting the amendment would have paved the way for the Republican-dominated state legislature to further restrict or ban the procedure.
Two more initiatives opposing abortion rights and three supporting it are slated for ballots in November — the most on record in a single year. And state lawmakers and advocates already are preparing ballot initiatives in a handful of states for the 2023 and 2024 elections.
