Kansas is geared up for a bitter, battleground abortion fight after Roe falls

The state's voters will decide Aug. 2 whether the Kansas Constitution will continue to preserve the right to get an abortion.
TOPEKA, Kansas — A state already gearing up for voters to decide whether to strike abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution reacted with both glee and dismay at the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade precedent on Friday.

The high court left states relatively unfettered to limit, and even ban, abortion. That holds a particular impact in Kansas — which once again finds itself a national battleground on the forever-contentious issue.

Already, Kansas stands as an abortion refuge in a region where women have been traveling from Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and even farther in search of services at women’s health clinics in Overland Park and Wichita.

“We have seen this play out in our own clinics in Oklahoma and Kansas,” Trust Women said in a statement, “all while Roe remained the law of the land.”