EVERT NELSON/USA TODAY NETWORK / via REUTERS
In Topeka, Kansas, abortion-rights supporters begin to celebrate as early polls showed voters rejected the state’s constitutional amendment that would have declared there was no right to abortion.
UNITED STATES – First major setback for the Supreme Court and its decision on abortion. In the conservative-leaning Midwest, voters in Kansas voted to uphold the constitutional abortion guarantee on Tuesday, August 2, in the first major vote on abortion since the Supreme Court of the United States canceled this federal right.
Voters in the state voted down an amendment that would have removed language guaranteeing abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution and could have paved the way for stricter regulation or even an outright ban.
This election was seen as a political test at the national level, many conservative states having already banned or intending to quickly ban any right to abortion. As soon as the result was announced, the defenders of the right to abortion celebrated the victory of their camp, in this very controversial debate which opposes two Americas.
It’s a result ” outstanding “, said Ashley All, spokesperson for the abortion rights campaign. “The people of Kansas understood that this amendment would impose government control over private medical decisions “, she said.
Kansans stood up for fundamental rights today. We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic futur… https://t.co/jKwRa2ijVS
— Laura Kelly (@LauraKellyKS)
“The people of Kansas stood up for basic rights today. We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future and jeopardized women’s access to health care. Together we will continue to make incredible progress to make Kansas the best state in the nation to live freely and do business. tweeted Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.
Just after the polls closed at 7:00 p.m. (0000 GMT), Kansas election overseer Scott Schwab said turnout was at least 50%, a figure that is in line with expectations for this type of poll. By noon, nearly 250 voters had passed through the Olathe polling station, in the suburbs of Kansas City, the same number at this time as during a presidential election, according to electoral agent Marsha Barrett. “This election is crazy”she told AFP. “People are determined to vote. »
The tree that hides the forest ?
Even though abortion advocates have won a clear victory in Kansas, they are watching with anxiety the neighboring states of Missouri and Oklahoma, which have imposed near-total bans. Missouri does not allow exceptions for rape or incest.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, are due to vote on the issue in November, coinciding with midterm congressional elections in which Republicans and Democrats hope to rally their supporters around abortion.
The result in Kansas means that abortion will remain legal until 22 weeks of pregnancy. Parental authorization is required for minors. The vote, which coincided with the Kansas primaries, represented the first opportunity for American voters to express their views on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade.
Democrats strongly support abortion rights, while conservatives generally support at least some restrictions. But in Kansas, the political reality is more complicated. The state leans heavily Republican and has not voted for a Democrat in the White House since 1964.
But Kansas’ most populous county elected a Democrat, Sharice Davids, to the House of Representatives in 2018, and state Governor Laura Kelly is a Democrat. According to a 2021 poll, less than 20% of Kansas respondents agreed that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.
See also on The HuffPost: Abortion in the United States: The outrage of a 12-year-old girl at a public hearing