Reproductive rights hang on a citizen vote in Kansas

First modification: 08/02/2022 – 12:56

With our correspondent in Washington, Xavier Villa.

Kansas is the first state in the country to put the future of abortion directly to the citizen vote. If a majority votes in favor of the proposal promoted by the Republican majority in the state Congress, the state will have free rein to abolish the right to abortion through an amendment to the state Constitution.

This vote is a right now guaranteed by the Kansas Supreme Court, which ruled in 2019 that citizens should be able to control their bodies. With that ruling, justice closed the door to creating new legislation on abortion, unless the state Constitution was modified.

This is what conservatives are now proposing with a vote on an amendment to the Magna Carta, which – if successful – would end abortion in Kansas and open up an ocean of possibilities for other states to adopt this restrictive path.

a historic sanctuary

Kansas is therefore a pioneering and determining experiment for the future of abortion in the United States. The polls point to a technical tie between supporters and opponents of the measure.

►Listen and watch: “What are the implications of reversing the right to abortion in the US?”

It would be a testament to Kansas’ historic positioning as a procedural location that has attracted thousands of women from bordering states for years who may now find their options even more limited if the measure passes.