PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT

Aug. 6, 2022

The pro-choice movement secured a massive victory in the Republican state of Kansas on August 2, as voters overwhelmingly rejected the ‘Value Them Both Amendment’ that would have removed legal protections for abortion from the state’s constitution.

What was the abortion amendment rejected by Kansas?

  • The ‘Value Them Both Amendment’ states there “is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion.”
  • The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that abortion was guaranteed by the state constitution.
  • Voting ‘yes’ on the ballot for the amendment would have meant there would be no constitutional right to abortion in the state while voting against would leave the state constitution unchanged, and people in Kansas would continue to have a right to an abortion.
  • This was the first time the American public electorally responded to the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in June when it overturned the nationwide constitutional right to abortion, leaving abortion laws entirely up to the states.