First modification:
Around 60% of the electorate of the American province chose to maintain the conditions for abortion as currently regulated in the state Constitution, so it will remain legal until 22 weeks. This defeat for the Republicans, who pushed for the override, averted a dangerous precedent for other jurisdictions. It is the first state to craft an amendment following the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe vs. Wade.
Voters in favor of abortion in Kansas won an overwhelming victory at the polls to keep the right intact under the conditions in which it is currently regulated under the state Constitution.
By means of a referendum, which coincided with the primary elections, more than 60% of the contestants who stated their position did so to defend the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.
The Secretary of State of Kansas, Scott Schwab, affirmed that 50% of the voter came to participate in the amendment, a figure that is usually expected for presidential elections.
Kansas is the first territory of the United States to achieve it in this way since the Supreme Court repealed the resolution of the emblematic case Roe vs. Wade, eliminating abortion as a federal right and opening the possibility that each jurisdiction can impose its own rules.
Although the government is in the hands of a Democrat like Laura Kelly, the local conservative tradition is solid (today they control the Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State and both state Houses) and this Republican bloc sought restrictions on abortion. However, the citizens chose that it continue to be legal until the 22nd week of pregnancy.
US President Joe Biden praised Kansanos for “going to the polls in record numbers to reject extremist efforts (that attempted) to amend the state Constitution to take away women’s right to choose.”
“This vote makes clear what we already know: A majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health decisions,” he added.
Republicans were going for a total ban
In the supposed scenario in which the constitutional reform would have been approved, the responsibility would fall to the state legislature with the power to pass laws on the procedure.
According to local media, the intention of the conservatives was to aim for a total ban, with exceptions in specific cases, as is being done in other jurisdictions such as Texas.
In recent weeks, since the Supreme Court decision, Kansas has become a haven for women living in anti-abortion states like Oklahoma and Missouri, which have enacted harsh restrictions not even allowing for rape proceedings.
Prior to the referendum, social organizations had criticized the text to be voted on for being unclear. The Planned Parenthood entity affirmed that those who oppose abortion sought to “misinform and confuse.”
Popular consultations in other states will continue in November. Also coinciding with the congressional mid-term elections, California and Kentucky, among others, will vote on abortion regulations.
With AFP and EFE
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