In debating abortion amendment to Kansas constitution, lawmakers weigh the what-ifs
Advocates on both sides of the proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas constitution made their arguments to lawmakers Friday, mostly in the form of hypothetical court rulings and possible new laws.
In back-to-back hearings, House and Senate committees considered the amendment designed to overturn the 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision upholding a woman’s right to an abortion.
The proposal is not an outright ban on abortion. It says the state constitution doesn’t require government funding of abortions nor does it “create or secure a right to abortion.” It also provides that the Legislature may pass laws on abortion to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.
.It passed the Senate in 2020 by the required two-thirds majority but fell just short in the House. The measure is virtually certain to clear a more conservative House this year. If approved, it would go to Kansas voters on the August 2022 primary ballot.
Proponents of the “Value The Both” amendment — referring the the well-being of the mother and unborn child—warn that without it, the state’s existing abortion regulations are at risk of being thrown out by future state Supreme Court rulings.
“When a state recognizes an independent state right to abortion...it’s the beginning of a long line of cases striking common sense regulations,” said Elizabeth Kirk a research associate at the Catholic University of America school of law.
Opponents assert that passage of the amendment would empower lawmakers to impose increasingly restrictive abortion laws or, if federal protections are struck down, ban it altogether in the state.
“The true goal of this amendment is to create an opportunity for the legislature to pass a total ban on abortion,” said Megan McQuinn, a Wyandotte County resident. “The legislature does not know what’s best for women, women know what’s best for themselves.”
Proponents chose the primary date even though lawmakers who wanted the measure on the general election ballot caused the measure to fail last year.
Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, said he planned to propose an amendment that would move the election to November 2022, where turnout Is expected to be much higher than the August election.
With all four House Republicans who voted against the measure no longer in office, Senate Majority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said she expects the amendment to pass.
“I don’t think there will be problem with that passing,” Sykes said. “We will try to do what we can but I think it will be a public fight.”
Current Regulations
Kirk told the Senate Judiciary Committee that existing regulations such as a 24-hour waiting period, parental consent laws, licensing restrictions and bans on taxpayer funded abortions could be struck down by the Kansas Supreme Court.
That was what happened in Alaska, Massachusetts, California and other states, Kirk said, where state courts followed up rulings similar to the Kansas decision by rolling back abortion regulations.
Proponents argued that women were not provided with adequate information prior to the procedure about the potential impacts an abortion could have on mental health and that minors should be required to seek parental consent.
“The implication of the supreme court decision to allow young adolescents to consent to a procedure without consent is not standard in any other area,” said Dr. Catherine Powers.
Rachel Sweet, regional director of public policy and organizing at Planned Parenthood, said that under the Kansas constitution any medically necessary regulations would still be permitted.
“Things like a state-mandated 24 hour waiting period are not medically necessary,” she said. “Those don’t do anything to improve patient care.”
Woodard said putting a fundamental right from the state’s constitution up for a public vote is a “slippery slope” that could result in complete defeat for the Kansas anti-abortion movement.
But Rep. Tory Arnberger, a Great Bend Republican, said Kansans want the opportunity to vote on the amendment.
“We want to just protect what we currently have,” Arnberger said. “We’re at the risk of all of them that have been passed over 20 years.”
Federal Protections
Opponents are concerned that a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe V. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that upholds a woman’s right to an abortion without undue government interference.
If the Kansas amendment passes and Roe is subsequently overturned, lawmakers would have the authority to severely restrict or totally ban abortion and potentially place a mother’s life at risk if an abortion is necessary to save her life.
“We’re concerned because we can see the writing on the wall,” Sweet, with Planned Parenthood, said. “If Roe falls or is eroded beyond recognition, there will be no right to abortion in Kansas.”
Sen. Kellie Warren, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, said she would not speculate on what could come later if the amendment passes or how she would vote if future legislation was presented to restrict or regulate abortion.
“The amendment being proposed would merely preserve what Kansas has in law right now already,” Warren said.
Kirk, with Catholic University of America, called the suggestion that Roe v. Wade could be overturned an “extreme hypothetical.”
Woodard, however, said that hypothetical could easily become reality.
“While there are hypothetical conversations, every single group here in Kansas ... have made it very clear that this constitutional amendment is just the first step in their path to ban abortions in all cases,” Woodard said.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM with the headline "In debating abortion amendment to Kansas constitution, lawmakers weigh the what-ifs."
