Dylan Lysen/Kansas Information Service
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansans have been arguing with one another about abortion for at the least a era.
However the stakes have by no means been this excessive. Kansas would be the first state within the nation to vote on abortion rights for the reason that U.S. Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade.
The U.S. Supreme Courtroom says states are free to outlaw abortion. The Kansas Supreme Courtroom says, positive, however provided that you first change the state structure.
And the legislature, dominated by conservatives in opposition to abortion rights, put an modification to the Kansas Structure up for a statewide vote Tuesday.
That is drawn thousands and thousands in marketing campaign spending to the state and fired up forces on either side.
“You need to have the liberty to determine no matter you need for your self,” says Shauna Williams, a Topeka resident who lately protested outdoors the Kansas Statehouse to oppose the constitutional modification.
She and different protesters say that if voters select the constitutional modification, state lawmakers may dictate what an individual does with their physique whereas pregnant. Supporters of the change see it as a method to regulate abortion according to how Kansans really feel about abortion.
Many states noticed abortion restrictions go into impact instantly after the ruling. However the best to an abortion continued in Kansas due to a landmark 2019 Kansas Supreme Courtroom determination.
So the stakes have been raised for the vote in Kansas, turning a philosophical query to vary the state structure into a call that can have real-world penalties.