Abortion amendment will not appear on ballot until 2022
The Leavenworth Times
The Value Them Both amendment recently passed in the Kansas House of Representatives and Kansas Senate with the required two-thirds majority votes. But voters in Leavenworth County will have to wait more than a year before they have the opportunity to help decide the fate of the proposed amendment to the state Constitution.
The issue will not be put before voters across the state until August 2022 primary election.
If approved by voters, the amendment would add language to the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights stating “there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion.” The amendment also would affirm the Legislature’s ability to pass laws to regulate abortion to the extent allowed under the U.S. Constitution.
Here’s a sample from Jim’s stack of stories presented for listeners this week:
–45 Republican senators voted in favor of a motion introduced by Senator Rand Paul to dismiss the impeachment article against former President Donald Trump as being unconstitutional.
–There’s a furor growing over a claim by ‘squad’ member Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez that a Republican senator tried to have her killed.
–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that more resources will be devoted to Capitol building protection, especially toward the enemy within the House.
–Pro-lifers criticized the New York Times for describing President Joe Biden as the most religiously observant president in 50 years, even though he supports killing unborn babies in abortions without restriction and wants to force taxpayers to fund such deaths.
Abortion s status as a Kansas constitutional right to be on August 2022 ballot
After failing last year, it s final. Abortion will be on the August 2022 ballot.
The Kansas Legislature passed with two-thirds majorities a constitutional amendment that would overturn a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that abortion is a state constitutional right, as well as allowing the regulation of abortion.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has no power to veto this. But the Value Them Both amendment only becomes constitutional law if voters approve it.
Proponents have argued for putting this issue before voters, saying that the ruling has threatened already-passed, common-sense limitations on abortion, such as 24-hour waiting periods, parental consent or legislation preventing taxpayer money from being used for abortions.
Daniel Caudill / Kansas News Service
Originally published on January 28, 2021 6:06 pm
TOPEKA, Kansas Lawmakers sent voters a state constitutional amendment Thursday that anti-abortion forces say Kansas needs to keep existing laws intact and that their opponents say could ultimately make abortions unattainable in the state.
The amendment, which supporters call Value Them Both, comes in response to a 2019 court ruling that said there is a right to abortion in the state constitution. The amendment would overturn that by changing the constitution to specifically say that it does not include a right to abortion and that lawmakers can regulate the procedure.
The Senate passage triggers a statewide vote in the August 2022 primary election. Approval by a simple majority of voters would put the language into the Kansas Constitution.
Kansas voters to decide abortion question; S.C. Senate approves sweeping ban
Annie Gowen, The Washington Post
Jan. 28, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas voters will decide next year whether the state s constitution protects abortion rights under a ballot measure approved by the state Senate on Thursday.
If approved by voters, the measure - known by its supporters as Value Them Both - would amend the state s constitution to say there is no right to abortion and leave the power to regulate the procedure to the legislature, currently a Republican-leaning body that in recent years has tightened restrictions on abortions.
Kansas would join four other states that have approved similar constitutional amendments since 2014, along with others that have enacted abortion restrictions. The measures could put the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court and its new conservative majority, offering an opportunity to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion