The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade won’t immediately affect Kansas law. But it could soon have a major impact after Kansans vote in August on a high-stakes ballot question.
Kansas voters will decide whether to overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found state level protections for abortion rights in the Kansas Constitution. Right now, state lawmakers are barred from passing most laws that would restrict a woman’s access to an abortion even with the elimination of five decades of federal protections.
But August’s vote would change that. If the amendment passes the Legislature would once again be allowed to impose any restrictions allowed by federal law — including a total ban on the procedure.
Until the vote, Kansas is positioned as a key space for abortion access as its neighboring states move towards bans. The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court decision is likely to bring new attention to Kansas and new energy to state activists in the final five weeks of the campaign.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights research group, Kansas could see a more than 1,000% increase in abortions as its neighboring states, including Missouri, impose trigger bans and restrict abortions without state level protections.
Voter engagement
Even before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe, abortion rights advocates in Kansas were motivated by the potential of the federal protections falling.
The stakes around the amendment heightened last month when Politico published a leaked draft of a SCOTUS opinion overturning Roe.
“We’re the ones who get to decide our fate, so I think Roe has elevated that conversation and people are becoming increasingly aware that our fate is in our hands with this amendment in Kansas,” state Rep. Lindsey Vaughn, an Overland Park Democrat, said while canvassing for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, a “vote no” group.
Walking door-to-door last weekend Vaughn and Kim Biagoli, a volunteer, consistently reminded Kansas residents of Roe v. Wade and the potential that federal rights could fall.
Their message was that if the amendment passes, little would stand between Kansas and a total ban on abortion if the Legislature wanted to pursue it.
Democratic state lawmakers and advocacy groups posted to Twitter in the minutes following the Friday ruling urging Kansans to vote no and to volunteer.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, said the ruling meant the stakes were no longer “hyperbole or hypothetical.”
“We have a chance to protect CHOICE in Kansas on August 2nd,” state Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, wrote. He added a link to a volunteer sign-up form.
In a statement after the ruling Friday, Ashley All, spokeswoman for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, called the decision “shameful” and a reminder of the importance of August’s vote.
“This is an absolutely unprecedented moment — if we do not act, children will grow up with fewer constitutional rights than their parents. This decision reinforces just how critical it is that we protect our constitutional rights here at home. Kansans must continue to have the freedom to make private health decisions free from government overreach,” All said.
Michael Smith, a political scientist at Emporia State University, said the ruling was likely to increase voter turnout in August, and bring a flood of national attention to Kansas.
“Particularly single-issue voters who are anti-abortion already vote in low turnout elections,” Smith said. “I think that where there’s more of a variable is on the pro-choice side there may have been people in the past who kind of took Roe v. Wade for granted.
“This may pull more of those voters out.”
‘Destination’ state?
The main advocacy group for the amendment, the Value Them Both PAC, said the decision emphasized the importance of the vote.
“As it stands today, unelected judges in Kansas are the ones who will decide the fate of abortion limits. The Value Them Both Amendment is a reasonable approach and will ensure Kansas does not remain a permanent destination for the most extreme and painful abortion procedures,” spokeswoman Mackenzie Haddix said in a statement.
Proponents of the amendment have stayed away from discussions of what comes after the amendment vote even as national anti-abortion groups have called for abortion bans across the country.
Instead, they have focused on existing restrictions on abortion in Kansas and concern that those could fall under the 2019 state court ruling.
A radio ad for the Value Them Both campaign referenced the potential overturning of Roe, noting that Kansas would not be impacted.
“We’ve all heard the news, the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe and allow states to make their own laws on abortion,” the ad said. “Painful dismemberment abortions are legal in Kansas even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. But the Value Them Both constitutional amendment will fix this.”
Advocates have claimed abortion is unregulated under the ruling, however, several restrictions on abortion — including a ban on medicaid funding of abortions and a ban on abortions at or after 22 weeks — have remained in the state.
Furthermore, abortion services are regulated in the same way all similar medical procedures are regulated in Kansas.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the likely GOP nominee for governor, said he planned to vote yes and wanted to see fewer abortions in Kansas.
“In my view, the increase in the number of abortions in Kansas the past two years after a long period of steady decline is distressing. I prefer a future with less abortion, not more. To preserve existing limits on late-term abortions, requirements parents be notified when minors seek abortion, and prohibitions on using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion, I will join with other pro-life Kansans in casting my vote for Value Them Both,” Schmidt said.
Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat up for reelection in November, didn’t comment on the amendment but said she opposed any legislation that “interferes with individual freedoms or threatens the strides we’ve made in recent years making Kansas a constructive place to do business.”
“A woman’s reproductive health care decisions should be between her and her physician,” she said.
But Kansas is likely to see an increased demand for abortion in the coming months.
U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner lamented that the ruling wouldn’t “protect life” in Kansas.
“It’s now more important than ever that Kansans reaffirm our commitment to protecting the unborn and vote to pass the Value Them Both Amendment to guarantee our state does not become a hub for unlimited abortions,” LaTurner said in a statement.
Oklahoma has already passed laws banning most abortions, Missouri has a trigger law that bans abortion except in the event of a medical emergency and the Nebraska Governor has said he would call a special session on abortion law if Roe v. Wade falls.
Kansas, alongside Colorado and Illinois, is likely to become a major access point for abortion for women in the Midwest, unless the amendment passes and lawmakers return to Topeka and impose new restrictions.
MyFy Jensen-Fellows, advocacy director at Trust Women abortion clinic in Wichita, said the clinic has already seen increased wait times and calls following strict abortion restrictions in Oklahoma and Texas.
“We’re already operating in an abortion desert and have certainly felt the impact of bans in other states in the region and so we do imagine that that will magnify and continue,” Jensen-Fellows said.
“It will continue to have incredible ramifications for access in our region as a whole.”
The Star’s Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.
