Posters for and against the proposed limitation of the right to abortion, on a street in Lenexa, Kansas, United States. Photo: AFP
The state of Kansas goes to the polls on Tuesday to rule on the right to abortion, in the first popular consultation on the matter since the US Supreme Court ended federal law on abortion in June.
Citizens have decided whether or not to remove the right to terminate pregnancy from the constitution of that conservative state in the midwestern United States.
But it is also perceived as a test for the right to abortion across the countryas Republican-dominated legislatures rush to impose severe bans on the procedure following the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate Roe v. Wade.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, will vote on the issue in November, at the same time as the midterm elections for Congress, in which Republicans and Democrats alike hope to rally supporters across the country around abortion.
Supporters of the vote to limit the right to abortion this Tuesday in Olathe, Kansas. Photo: AFP
opposite positions
In Kansas, the vote centers on a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that grants access to abortion through the 22nd week of gestation.
In response, a group of lawmakers introduced an amendment known as the “Value Them Both” in the Republican-dominated state congress, which would eliminate constitutional law with the aim of giving lawmakers back the regulation of the procedure. .
On the opposite side, activists see the campaign as an attempt to pave 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 mother’s life.
The amendment is a blow to “personal autonomy,” said Ashley All, spokesperson for the pro-abortion campaign Kanseños for Constitutional Freedom.
An abortion right advocate demonstrates this Tuesday in Wichita, Kansas. Photo: REUTERS
Activists also complained that the ballot paper was confused. Voting “Yes” on the amendment means reducing the right to abortion, while those who want to keep this practice intact had to vote “No”.
Supporters of abortion in Kansas look nervously to neighboring states of Oklahoma and Missouri, which have almost totally banned abortionwhile in Indiana there are many restrictions.
Kara Miller Karmas, a citizen of Leawood, Kansas, said she would vote to maintain the “status quo” because she considers it “unacceptable” for her daughters to grow up with fewer rights than she did.
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 the abortion ban.
“I believe life begins at conception,” he told AFP before voting.
On Tuesday, a man walks into a polling center at a church in Merriam, Kansas. Photo: AFP
A test for the whole country
The result of Kansas it can be a pulse or a blow for both sides of the abortion debate in the United States.
Kansas is inclined to support the Republican Party, which favors stricter regulation of abortion.
But a 2021 Fort Hays State University survey found that fewer than 20 percent of respondents in that state agree that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.
Source: AFP
CB
Caitlyn Wilson
Source: Clarin
