Kansas goes to the polls this Tuesday to rule on the right to abortion in the first popular consultation on the subject since the Supreme Court of the United States ended the federal right to that procedure in June.
Citizens will decide whether or not to eliminate from the Constitution of that conservative state in the midwestern United States the right to interrupt pregnancy.
But it is also being seen as a test for abortion rights across the country, as Republican-dominated legislatures rush to impose strict bans on the procedure following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, will vote on the issue in November, at the same time as midterm elections for Congress, in which Republicans and Democrats alike hope to rally supporters across the country around abortion.
In Kansas, where the polls opened at 07:00 a.m. (6:00 a.m. from Mexico City), the vote focuses on a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that guarantees access to abortion until week 22. of gestation.
In response, a group of legislators introduced an amendment known as “Value Them Both” in the Republican-dominated state Congress, which would eliminate the constitutional right with the aim of returning to legislators the regulation of the procedure. .
On the other side, activists see the campaign as an attempt to clear the way for an outright ban. A state legislator has already introduced a bill to ban abortion without exception, whether for rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother.
The amendment is a blow to “personal autonomy,” said Ashley All, a spokeswoman for the pro-abortion Kanseños for Constitutional Freedom campaign.
Activists also complain that the ballot sheet is confusing. Voting “Yes” on the amendment means reducing the right to abortion, while those who want to keep this practice intact have to vote “No”.
Eyes on Kansas
Abortion advocates in Kansas are nervously eyeing neighboring states of Oklahoma and Missouri, which have almost completely banned abortions, while Indiana has many restrictions.
Kara Miller Karmas, a citizen of Leawood, Kansas, said she will vote to maintain the “status quo” because she considers it “unacceptable” that her daughters grow up with fewer rights than she had.
But in the same neighborhood, Christine Vasquez, 43, said she supports the reform in the hope that it will pave the way for a future vote on an abortion ban.
“I believe that life begins at conception,” he told AFP before voting.
The Kansas outcome could be a boost or a blow to either side of the US abortion debate.
Kansas is inclined to support the Republican Party, which favors stricter regulation of abortion. But a 2021 Fort Hays State University poll found that fewer than 20% of respondents in that state agreed that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.
