House vote on Kansas abortion amendment in limbo for 3 hours, with outcome uncertain

Kansas lawmakers began voting at 10:20 a.m. Friday on an anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution. Approval would place the measure on a statewide ballot this August.

Three hours later, they’re still voting.

Supporters of the amendment have held the vote open even though the count stands at 78 – well short of the 84 needed for passage. They’re hoping they can flip enough votes and are willing to spend hours to do it.

If the House ultimately approves the amendment, voters will decide whether the state constitution includes the right to an abortion. A failed vote Friday would represent a major setback for supporters and could scramble the legislative session.

As lawmakers remained at an impasse, the state’s leading anti-abortion group, Kansans for Life, said it would oppose Medicaid expansion unless the amendment is passed. Expansion enjoys bipartisan support but is strongly opposed by some Republicans leaders, including Senate President Susan Wagle and House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins.

Amendment proponents say it will guarantee lawmakers the ability to regulate abortion following a Kansas Supreme Court decision this spring that found a personal right to autonomy extends to a woman’s decision to end a pregnancy. Opponents say it could pave the way for the Legislature to ban abortion if the federal right to the procedure ever ends.

The amendment came up short during a first-round vote Thursday, and supporters don’t appear to have made progress since then.

When Republicans gathered ahead of the vote Friday, Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch suggested the process could last a long time.

“We have a process here that is sometimes messy, that sometimes takes time. But it involves talking with one another, it involves looking for compromise and all of us trying to find ways to acknowledge either other’s positions and work toward getting something done,” Finch told Republicans. “And that’s what’s going on now.”

As minutes turned to hours, lawmakers passed the time on their phones, computers and with paperwork. Some brought in pizza. Legislators passed around a large bag of popcorn.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 1:37 PM.