Like sunflowers, campaign signs bloom in Kansas. For several weeks now, the colored panels « vote yes » or « vote no » are spreading across the lawns of this central US state. The reason: the referendum on Tuesday, August 2 on abortion. Voters are being asked to vote on an amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would give local lawmakers the ability to restrict that right, protected since 2019 by state Supreme Court case law.
$11 million spent
This is the first time that abortion has come up against the ballot box since the repeal in June of “Roe vs. Wade”, the judgment which guaranteed access to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) at the federal level. “We distributed thousands of placards against the amendment. Sometimes to Republicans and Catholics. There is no typical profile, explains Deann Mitchell, leader of the Johnson County Democrats, and supporter of the “no”. This county, the most populous in Kansas, is a key battleground for the Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the pro-choice coalition favorable to the “no”, as for Value Them Both (VTB), which defends the amendment.
Launched in 2021, the campaign would have gone unnoticed had “Roe” not been fired. Overnight, donations poured into the coffers of both sides, which spent a total of $11 million on the campaign. The archdiocese of Kansas City, headed by Bishop Joseph Naumann, the former president of the commission for pro-life activities of the American episcopal conference, notably gave nearly 3 million dollars to VTB, whose name means “Enhance both” (mother and child). And churches have put up signs of support.
Value Them Both is careful not to publicly advocate a complete ban on abortion – 60% of Kansas residents are against it, like the rest of the country. Its goal: to restore past restrictions, in particular a law banning the so-called “dilation and evacuation” method, used in the second trimester of pregnancy. The amendment would return to state legislators the power to do so.
The “yes” to restrictions at 47%
This is what frightens the “no” camp: even if the governor of Kansas is a centrist Democrat, the State Parliament is controlled by Republicans who consider the current legislation too generous. Unlike its neighbors (Missouri, Oklahoma), where abortion was nearly banned after Roe vs. Wade’s revocation, Kansas allows the practice until the 22e week of gestation (with parental consent for minors and a mandatory waiting period).
The anti-amendments mainly emphasize the fact that politicians should not interfere with the medical choices of women. An argument which, they hope, will hit home in this state with a large independent electorate, opposed to any public intervention in the private sphere.
According to a poll released on July 20, the “yes” vote receives 47%, the “no” 43%. Other voters are undecided. A volunteer with pro-life Students for Life of America, 22-year-old Stephanie Luiz came from Boston to go door-to-door in Johnson County. “We thought Americans were used to abortion being allowed, but the fact that the campaign is so popular shows that public opinion is beginning to recognize that life begins at conception. The wind is turning. »