Kansas voters overwhelmingly say 'No' to stripping abortion rights from the state constitution

Kansas voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment Tuesday that would have stripped away the right to an abortion — marking a stand for abortion rights in a heavily Republican state in the first vote since the fall of Roe v. Wade.

The vote, for now, preserves access to abortion in Kansas and serves as a rebuke to the regional trend significantly restricting abortion access after the federal right was overturned — and that has made Kansas an abortion destination.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this summer raised the stakes in Kansas and supercharged the political fight that ignited protests, contentious campaigns and a flood of out-of-state campaign money.

Supporters argued the amendment was necessary to correct what they see as the Kansas Supreme Court’s overreach by striking down some of the state’s previous abortion restrictions in 2019. Opponents contended that the amendment would set up state lawmakers to pursue a total ban like other Republican-dominated states.