Kansas – Michmutters

Tag: Kansas

Categories
US

What Pro-Lifers Should Learn From Kansas

What Pro-Lifers Should Learn From Kansas

Peggy Noonan is an opinion columnist at the Wall Street Journal where her column, “Declarations,” has run since 2000.

She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2017. A political analyst for NBC News, she is the author of nine books on American politics, history and culture, from her most recent, “The Time of Our Lives,” to her first, “What I Saw at the Revolution.” She is one of ten historians and writers who contributed essays on the American presidency for the book, “Character Above All.” Noonan was a special assistant and speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. In 2010 she was given the Award for Media Excellence by the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor; the following year she was chosen as Columnist of the Year by The Week. She has been a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, and has taught in the history department at Yale University.

Before entering the Reagan White House, Noonan was a producer and writer at CBS News in New York, and an adjunct professor of Journalism at New York University. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up there, in Massapequa Park, Long Island, and in Rutherford, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford. She lives in New York City. In November, 2016 she was named one of the city’s Literary Lions by the New York Public Library.

.

Categories
US

Kansas voters uphold right to abortion in state constitution

Kansas voters uphold right to abortion in state constitution

For the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving it to states to determine abortion access, the issue appeared on a state ballot. In Kansas, CBS News projects that a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion has been defeated.

The Kansas ballot initiative is seen as a bellwether for the impact of abortion on the midterm November elections.

Since the high court’s ruling ending the federal right to an abortion, at least 12 states have either banned abortion outright or after six weeks of pregnancy. Other states are also expected to move forward with further restrictions.

In Kansas, voters reaffirmed abortion is constitutionally protected, leaving in place a 2019 decision by the state Supreme Court. That ruling stated that a person has the right to personal autonomy and applied strict scrutiny to regulate abortion. The Kansas legislature would not be able to ban or enact further restrictions on abortion without a constitutional amendment.

Election 2022-Kansas-Abortion
In this photo from Thursday, July 14, 2022, a sign in a yard in Merriam, Kansas, urges voters to oppose a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to allow legislators to further restrict or ban abortion. Opponents of the measure believe it will lead to a ban on abortion in Kansas.

John Hanna/AP


“Kansans stood up for fundamental rights today. We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future & put women’s health care access at risk,” tweeted Kansas’ Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. “Together, we’ll continue to make incredible strides to make KS the best state in the nation to live freely & do business.”

President Biden issued a statement saying in part that, “This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions. Congress should listen to the will of the American people and restore the protections of Roe as federal law.”

The “Value Them Both” Amendment made it onto the Aug. 2 primary ballot after being passed in the Republican-controlled state legislature with two-thirds of the vote in both chambers in 2021.

“While the outcome is not what we hoped for, our movement and campaign have proven our resolve and commitment. We will not abandon women and babies,” said the Value Them Both Coalition, which supported the amendment, in a statement. The group went on to call the outcome a “temporary setback.”

While passage of the amendment would not have directly banned abortion in the state, legal experts said it would have paved the way for the state legislature, where Republicans hold a super majority, to ban abortion.

“Under the language of the amendment, it would be possible to adopt a total ban on abortion from the point of conception until birth, with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life or health of the mother,” said Richard Levy, a professor of law at the University of Kansas.

Leading up to the primary, groups for and against the amendment were engaged in an aggressive campaign to reach voters, knocking on doors, phone banking and holding rallies. Nearly $13 million was spent on ads in the state on the issue of abortion ahead of the vote, according to AdImpact.

“This historic victory was the result of a groundswell of grassroots support and a broad coalition of reasonable, thoughtful Kansans across the state who put health care over politics,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, of the amendment’s defeat. “We have seen the devastation caused by a loss of access to abortion in neighboring states and tonight, Kansans saw through the deception of anti-abortion interests to ensure people in their state retained their rights.”

Although this was an off-year primary, where turnout is generally very low — in past recent elections less than a third of voters turned out to cast their ballots — Kansas’ early voting emerged ahead of the Aug. 2 primary, suggesting voters were highly motivated by the issue of abortion.

Unofficial results Tuesday night from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office showed more than 781,500 people voted on the amendment in the state. With 90% of the vote counted as of 11:45 pm Tuesday, “No” led with 60.4% to “Yes” at 39.6%

Overall, party officials and politicians are keeping a close eye on how the overturning of Roe v. Wade could galvanize voters ahead of the midterms. According to the CBS News Battleground Tracker, abortion is as an important an issue as the economy and inflation to women under 50. More than two-thirds of women under 50 describe the Republican party as “extreme.” But Democrats appear to be disappointed with how their party is handling the issue of abortion. Fifty-nine percent said their party was not doing enough to protect access, whereas the majority of Republicans believe their party is taking the right approach on abortion.

Kansas is the first state in a handful in which voters will have their say on abortion rights in the midterms. Similar measures to the Kansas effort are on the ballots in Kentucky and Montana, while initiatives adding abortion protections to the state constitutions are on the ballots in California and Vermont. Efforts to amend the constitution to protect the right to an aborotion in Michigan are also underway.

Sarah Ewall-Wice

CBS News reporter covering economic policy.

.

Categories
US

Kansas voters resoundingly protect their access to abortion

Kansas voters resoundingly protect their access to abortion

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters on Tuesday sent a resounding message about their desire to protect abortion rights, rejecting a ballot measure in a conservative state with deep ties to the anti-abortion movement that would have allowed the Republican-controlled Legislature to tighten restrictions or ban the procedure outright.

It was the first test of voter sentiment after the US Supreme Court’s decision in June that overturned the constitutional right to abortion, providing an unexpected result with potential implications for the coming midterm elections.

While it was just one state, the heavy turnout for an August primary that typically favors Republicans was a major victory for abortion rights advocates. With most of the vote counted, they were prevailing by roughly 20 percentage points, with the turnout approaching what’s typical for a fall election for governor.

The vote also provided a dash of hope for Democrats nationwide grasping for a game-changer during an election year otherwise filled with dark omens for their prospects in November.

“This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

After calling on Congress to “restore the protections of Roe” in federal law, Biden added, “And, the American people must continue to use their voices to protect the right to women’s health care, including abortion.”

The Kansas vote also provided a warning to Republicans who had celebrated the Supreme Court ruling and were moving swiftly with abortion bans or near-bans in nearly half the states.

“Kansans bluntly rejected anti-abortion politicians’ attempts at creating a reproductive police state,” said Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of the Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. ”Today’s vote was a powerful rebuke and a promise of the mounting resistance.”

The proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution would have added language stating that it does not grant the right to abortion. A 2019 state Supreme Court decision declared that access to abortion is a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights, preventing a ban and potentially thwarting legislative efforts to enact new restrictions.

The referendum was closely watched as a barometer of liberal and moderate voters’ anger over the Supreme Court’s ruling scrapping the nationwide right to abortion. In Kansas, abortion opponents wouldn’t say what legislation they’d pursue if the amendment were passed and bristled when opponents predicted it would lead to a ban.

Mallory Carroll, a spokesperson for the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, described the vote as “a huge disappointment” for the movement and called on anti-abortion candidates to “go on the offensive.”

She added that after the US Supreme Court ruling, “We must work exponentially harder to achieve and maintain protections for unborn children and their mothers.”

The measure’s failure was also significant because of Kansas’ connections to anti-abortion activists. Anti-abortion “Summer of Mercy” protests in 1991 inspired abortion opponents to take over the Kansas Republican Party and make the Legislature more conservative. They were there because Dr. George Tiller’s clinic was among the few in the US known to do abortions late in pregnancy, and he was murdered in 2009 by an anti-abortion extremist.

Anti-abortion lawmakers wanted to have the vote coincide with the state’s August primary, arguing they wanted to make sure it got the focus, though others saw it as an obvious attempt to increase their chances of winning. Twice as many Republicans as Democrats have voted in the state’s August primaries in the decade leading up to Tuesday’s election.

“This outcome is a temporary setback, and our fight dedicated to value women and babies is far from over,” said Emily Massey, a spokesperson for the pro-amendment campaign.

The electorate in Tuesday’s vote wasn’t typical for a Kansas primary, particularly because tens of thousands of unaffiliated voters cast ballots.

Kristy Winter, 52, a Kansas City-area teacher and unaffiliated voter, voted against the measure and brought her 16-year-old daughter with her to her polling place.

“I want her to have the same right to do what she feels is necessary, mostly in the case of rape or incest,” she said. “I want her to have the same rights my mother has had most of her life from her.”

Opponents of the measure predicted that the anti-abortion groups and lawmakers behind the measure would push quickly for an abortion ban if voters approved it. Before the vote, the measure’s supporters refused to say whether they would pursue a ban as they appealed to voters who supported both some restrictions and some access to abortion.

Stephanie Kostreva, a 40-year-old school nurse from the Kansas City area and a Democrat, said she voted in favor of the measure because she is a Christian and believes life begins at conception.

“I’m not full scale that there should never be an abortion,” she said. “I know there are medical emergencies, and when the mother’s life is in danger there is no reason for two people to die.”

An anonymous group sent a misleading text Monday to Kansas voters telling them to “vote yes” to protect choice, but it was suspended late Monday from the Twilio messaging platform it was using, a spokesperson said. Twilio did not identify the sender.

The 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights blocked a law that banned the most common second-trimester procedure, and another law imposing special health regulations on abortion providers also is on hold. Abortion opponents argued that all of the state’s existing restrictions were in danger, though some legal scholars found that argument dubious. Kansas doesn’t ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy.

The Kansas vote is the start of what could be a long-running series of legal battles playing out where lawmakers are more conservative on abortion than governors or state courts. Kentucky will vote in November on whether to add language similar to Kansas’ proposed amendment to its state constitution.

Meanwhile, Vermont will decide in November whether to add an abortion rights provision to its constitution. A similar question is likely headed to the November ballot in Michigan.

In Kansas, both sides together spent more than $14 million on their campaigns. Abortion providers and abortion rights groups were key donors to the “no” side, while Catholic dioceses heavily funded the “yes” campaign.

The state has had strong anti-abortion majorities in its Legislature for 30 years, but voters have regularly elected Democratic governors, including Laura Kelly in 2018. She opposed the proposed amendment, saying changing the state constitution would “throw the state back into the Dark Ages.”

State Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican hoping to unseat Kelly, supported the proposed constitutional amendment. He told the Catholic television network EWTN before the election that “there’s still room for progress” in decreasing abortions, without spelling out what he would sign as governor.

Although abortion opponents pushed almost annually for new restrictions until the 2019 state Supreme Court ruling, they felt constrained by past court rulings and Democratic governors like Kelly.

___

Stafford reported from Overland Park and Olathe.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna. For more AP coverage of the abortion issue, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion.

.

Categories
US

Eric Schmitt wins GOP primary for Senate in Missouri, defeating former governor Eric Greitens

live news

Signs are displayed by a road in Lenexa, Kansas, on Monday.
Signs are displayed by a road in Lenexa, Kansas, on Monday. (Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)

Kansas on Tuesday became the first state in the nation to let voters weigh in on abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The closely watched vote offers the first popular look at voter sentiment in the wake of the decision striking down Roe, which eliminated a federal right to abortion and sent the matter back to the states.

Voters regardless of political affiliation were asked whether to amend the state constitution to remove a protected right to abortion. The procedure is currently legal up to 22 weeks in Kansas, where people from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri have traveled for services amid Republican-led efforts to roll back abortion rights.

The text of the Tuesday’s question reads: “Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.”

A majority vote for “yes” would result in the state constitution being amended to say that it “does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.”

While such a vote would not ban abortion, it would be up to the GOP-controlled state legislature to pass laws regarding the procedure, including ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy without exceptions for rape and incest. And removing state constitutional protections would significantly curtail the ability of an individual to challenge a restrictive abortion measure.

to “no” vote would leave the state constitution unchanged, and abortions up to 22 weeks would remain legal. Lawmakers could still pass restrictive abortion laws, but the state would have to meet a higher threshold providing that it has a reason to enact the law in court.

Until now, the courts have recognized a right to abortion under the state constitution. Lawmakers had passed a restrictive abortion law in 2015 that would have banned the dilation and evacuation procedure, but it was permanently blocked by the courts.

When the Kansas state Supreme Court in 2019 ruled on the law, it said that the right to an abortion was protected under Section 1 of the Kansas constitution’s Bill of Rights, which reads, “All men are possessed of equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The issue was placed on the primary ballot, rather than the general election, which abortion rights advocates believe was intended in order to limit turnout. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state by more than 350,000, according to the latest figures from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office.

The constitutional amendment has already raised voter interest in the primary election, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office.

CNN’s Nick Valencia and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.

Read more.

.

Categories
US

Teen pro-life activist allegedly punched in the face while canvassing

Teen pro-life activist allegedly punched in the face while canvassing

A Kansas woman allegedly attacked a teenage pro-life canvasser when the student knocked on her door Sunday.

The student, Grace Hartsock, was going door-to-door to turn out Kansas voters for a Tuesday referendum on abortion law. The incident occurred when she approached a home in Leawood, according to Students for Life, the organization with which Hartsock was volunteering.

Hartsock says a woman answered the door and politely stated she was not interested when she learned why Hartsock had knocked.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t think you want to talk to us,” the woman said.

Hartsock turned to leave when another voice, also a woman, came from farther inside the house yelling and cursing.

“Don’t apologize to her, mom,” the woman yelled, according to SFL.

The second woman, whose identity is unknown, then reportedly followed Hartsock out of the house while berating her. SFL says the woman shoved Hartsock in the chest and began striking her head with closed fists.

Hartsock weathered the blows until the woman’s mother got the daughter to stop. The woman continued yelling, however, telling Hartsock, “I hope you get raped,” and “I hope you get run over by a car,” SFL says.

The student, Grace Hartsock, was canvassing door-to-door to turn out Kansas voters for a referendum on abortion law.
The student, Grace Hartsock, was canvassing door-to-door to turn out Kansas voters for a referendum on abortion law.
studentsforlifeaction/Facebook

The teenager was able to capture the final moments of the encounter with her phone, showing the woman back away toward the house while still hurling expletives.

SFL says Hartsock has filed a complaint to the Leewood Police Department regarding the incident. Hartsock declined an interview with Fox News Digital.

“Since she was struck, the student is experiencing headaches and body soreness, and Students for Life Action has connected her with an attorney. She and Students for Life Action are considering a legal response.” SFL spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick told Fox.

Kansas residents are voting on an amendment to the state constitution that would allow state lawmakers to regulate abortion access. The state will be the first in the country to hold a vote on abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June.

Grace Hartsock was able to capture the final moments of the confrontation.
Grace Hartsock was able to capture the final moments of the confrontation.
studentsforlifeaction/Facebook

The “Value Them Both” amendment would “affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion, and would reserve to the people of Kansas, through their elected state legislators, the right to pass laws to regulate abortion , including, but not limited to, in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”

The referendum comes roughly three years after the state Supreme Court ruled that the Kansas constitution protects the right to an abortion in 2019.

Kansas is a heavily Republican state, and the legislature would be likely to pass restrictions on abortion soon after the referendum if the amendment succeeds. It was the GOP supermajority in the state legislature that ensured the referendum would happen following the 2019 ruling and the fall of Roe.

.

Categories
US

Takeaways: Abortion backlash in Kansas, Greitens’ collapse

Takeaways: Abortion backlash in Kansas, Greitens' collapse

WASHINGTON (AP) — In one of the biggest days of this year’s primary campaign season, voters rejected a measure that would have made it easier to restrict abortion rights in red-state Kansas and repudiated a scandal-tarred former governor seeking a US Senate seat in Missouri.

Meanwhile, a Republican congressman who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection lost to a Trump-backed opponent early Wednesday, while two other impeachment-supporting House Republicans awaited results in their primaries in Washington state.

In Michigan, a political newcomer emerged from the state’s messy Republican gubernatorial primary, setting up a rare woman-vs.-woman general election matchup between conservative commentator Tudor Dixon and incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Takeaways from election results Tuesday night:

RED-STATE KANSAS REJECTS ANTI-ABORTION AMENDMENT

Kansas may seem like an unlikely place for abortion rights supporters to notch a major victory.

But on Tuesday, voters in the conservative state resoundingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Legislature to ban abortion. It was the first major test of voter sentiment since the Supreme Court ruling in June to rescind the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

The amendment would have allowed the Legislature to overturn a 2019 state Supreme Court decision declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state constitution.

Its failure at the ballot in a state Donald Trump won by nearly 15 points issues a stark warning to Republicans, who have downplayed the political impact of the high court’s ruling. It also hands a considerable win to Democrats, who are feeling newly energized heading into what was expected to be a tough midterm election season for them.

Kansas currently allows abortion until the 22nd week of pregnancy. After that, abortion is allowed only to save a patient’s life or to prevent “a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, has warned that the Republican-led Legislature’s efforts to ban abortion would hurt the state. On Tuesday it became clear that many voters agree with her.

___

TRUMP’S REVENGE

First-term Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer was one of 10 Republicans who joined Democrats to vote in favor of impeaching Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. On Tuesday, he became the latest victim of the former president’s revenge campaign.

Meijer, an heir to a Midwestern grocery store empire and a former Army reserve officer who served in Iraq, lost the GOP contest to former Trump administration official John Gibbs.

“I’m proud to have remained true to my principles, even when doing so came at a significant political cost,” Meijer said in a statement.

In addition to having Trump’s endorsement, Gibbs also shared Trump’s penchant for conspiracy theories: He parroted Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election and once spread false claims that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chair participated in a satanic ritual that involved bodily fluids.

Meijer is the second of the 10 impeachment-supporting Republicans to lose his primary, joining South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice, who was defeated by a Trump-backed challenger in June. Four others opted to withdraw rather than face voters’ wrath. And so far, only California Rep. David Valadao has survived — just barely.

Also on the ballot Tuesday were Washington state Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, who both faced Trump-backed challengers over their impeachment votes. But those contests were too early to call because Washington state conducts elections by mail, delaying the reporting of results.

Herrera Beutler’s challengers include Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who has cultivated links to right-wing extremist groups and employs a campaign aid who was a member of the Proud Boys. Newhouse’s opponents include Loren Culp, a former GOP gubernatorial nominee who falsely claimed that his 13-point loss from him to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in 2020 was the result of voter fraud.

___

TRUMP’S SLATE

Most of the candidates on Trump’s Arizona slate had a successful primary night.

Senate Blake Masters, whose campaign was bankrolled by tech investor Peter Thiel, won his Republican primary candidate after echoing Trump’s lies of a stolen election and playing up cultural grievances that encourage the right, including critical race theory and allegations of big tech censorship.

In the secretary of state race, Mark Finchem, an Arizona state lawmaker who worked to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss in the state, won his primary.

In the state Legislature, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who testified at a Jan. 6 hearing about Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election, lost his Republican primary for a state Senate seat to a Trump-backed former lawmaker, David Farnsworth.

The possible exception to Trump’s streak of wins was Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. She was trailing the establishment-backed Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by Trump’s estranged vice president, Mike Pence. That could still change. Election-day and late-arriving mail ballots that would likely favor Lake are still being counted.

Arizona has emerged as a key swing state. But it also carries significance to Trump after Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate in decades to carry what was once a reliably Republican state.

___

GREITENS’ COMEBACK COLLAPSES

Democratic hopes of picking up a US Senate seat in deep-red Missouri faltered Tuesday after Republican voters selected Attorney General Eric Schmitt as their nominee over former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace in 2018.

Greitens, they predicted, would be toxic in a general election. Democrats landed a strong recruit in beer heir Trudy Busch Valentine, who won her primary Tuesday. And the state’s Republican establishment prepared to put millions of dollars behind an independent candidate in the general election, potentially fracturing the GOP vote.

But Greitens came up short Tuesday, finishing a distant third behind Schmitt and US Rep. Vicky Hartzler. His campaign’s tailspin can likely be traced back to March, when his ex-wife submitted a bombshell legal filing in the former couple’s child custody case.

Sheena Greitens said in a sworn statement that Eric Greitens had abused her and one of their young sons. She also said he displayed such “unstable and coercive behavior” in the lead-up to his 2018 resignation that others took steps to limit his access to firearms.

At the time, Greitens faced potential impeachment after his former hairdresser testified that he blindfolded and restrained her in his basement, assaulted her and appeared to take a compromising photo to pressure her to keep quiet about an affair.

He resigned from office — and avoided testifying under oath about the affair.

He launched his comeback campaign for Senate last year, marketing himself as an unabashedly pro-Trump conservative. And while many in Missouri wrote him off, one important political figure didn’t: Donald Trump, who mused publicly about Greitens’ attributes.

But in the end, Trump stopped short of issuing an endorsement, instead issuing a vague statement this week throwing his support behind “ERIC.”

And on Tuesday, the other “ERIC” in the race — Schmitt — won.

___

MESSY RACE IN MICHIGAN

At its essence, Michigan’s raucous Republican gubernatorial primary was a contest of which candidate’s personal baggage was the least disqualifying. On Tuesday, conservative media personality Tudor Dixon was the victor, setting up a November general election against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the battleground state.

Dixon’s past as an actor in a series of vulgar and low-budget horror movies became a campaign issue. But her career was moonlighting in titles such as “Buddy BeBop Vs. the Living Dead” and a vampire TV series called “Transitions” paled in comparison to her rivals’ problems.

One rival, Ryan Kelley, faces federal misdemeanor charges after he was recorded on video in Washington during the Jan. 6 insurrection directing a mob of Trump supporters toward a set of stairs leading to the US Capitol. Kelley has pleaded not guilty.

Another, Kevin Rinke, is a former car dealer who settled a series of lawsuits in the 1990s after he was alleged to have made racist and sexist comments, which included calling women “ignorant and stupid” and stating that they “should not be allowed to work in public.”

A third, Garrett Soldano, is a chiropractor and self-help guru who has sold supplements he falsely claimed were a therapeutic treatment for the coronavirus.

Many in the state’s Republican establishment, including billionaire former Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos, view Dixon as their best shot at defeating Whitmer. Trump endorsed Dixon in the race Friday, just a few days before the primary.

But her primary victory is an outcome few would have predicted months ago. In addition to the shortcomings of her rivals, her path to her was cleared when the two best-known candidates in the race were kicked off the ballot in May for submitting false petition signatures.

.

Categories
US

Text urges “yes” vote in Kansas to “give women a choice.”

Anti-abortion advocates in favor of a constitutional amendment that would undo the right to an abortion in the Kansas Constitution are displaying YES signs and those not in favor are posting NO signs.

Anti-abortion advocates in favor of a constitutional amendment that would undo the right to an abortion in the Kansas Constitution are displaying YES signs and those not in favor are posting NO signs.

An anonymous group is sending a misleading text to Kansas voters telling them to “vote yes” in order to protect choice.

“Women in KS are losing their choice on reproductive rights. Voting YES on the amendment will give women a choice. Vote YES to protect women’s health.”

The message went to voters across the state, including former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The state’s main anti-abortion groups—The Value Them Both Coalition, Kansans for Life and Operation Rescue—all said they did not send the message. The Kansas GOP has also said they are not responsible. A spokeswoman for the Value Them Both Coalition said no member of the coalition, which includes Kansas Family Voice, Kansans for Life, and the Kansas Catholic Conference, sent the text.

“There’s a lot of people trying to confuse people on both sides, I guess,” said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue.

Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the main “vote no” campaign called the message an example of “desperate and deceitful tactics.”

“This misleading text shouldn’t surprise anyone. The anti-choice movement has been lying to the voters of Kansas for decades,” Sebelius said in a statement. “This act of desperation won’t stop the voters of Kansas from protecting their constitutional rights and freedom by voting NO tomorrow.”

image (1).png
Several Kansans received text messages urging a “yes” vote to “give women a choice” the day before Kansans vote on an amendment to remove abortion rights from the state constitution.

On Tuesday, Kansans will be the first in the nation to vote on abortion rights in a post-Roe world. They are deciding whether or not to approve a constitutional amendment that would remove the right to abortion from the state constitution.

A yes vote would remove the language, which would allow lawmakers to pass laws severely restricting or banning abortion. A no vote would keep the status quo and uphold a 2019 state supreme court decision that found a right to end a pregnancy within the Kansas Constitution.

The text likely does not violate Kansas campaign laws.

Mark Skoglund, the executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, said Kansas law does not require accuracy in campaign communication. Paid-for attribution on text messages is required for candidates but not ballot issues, he said.

“The Campaign Finance Act nor any other law under our jurisdiction places requirements regarding accuracy. In KGEC Advisory Opinion 2004-02, the Commission specifically found that ‘We have reviewed the Kansas Campaign Finance Act (KSA 25-4142 et seq.) in its entirety and nothing in the Act addresses the use of misleading advertising,’” Skoglund said in an email.

Cindy Novelo, a 64-year-old Lawrence Democrat who received the text called it “shameful.” She reported it to her local election office and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“It was so clear. It was very clear and people are looking for clarity. That it was so clear and completely false was just over the top,” she said.

Here are the facts:

What does the Value Them Both constitutional amendment say?

Last year, the Kansas Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to Kansas voters that would overturn the 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found a right to abortion in the state constitution.

Supporters call the amendment Value Them Both, referring to the pregnant mother and fetus. The amendment would add the following language to the state constitution:

Regulation of abortion. Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.”

What happens to abortion rights if Kansans vote ‘yes’?

A “yes” vote would add language codifying that nothing in the state constitution guarantees the right to an abortion.

It would not immediately ban abortion or change existing laws and regulations. However, it would mean Kansas lawmakers are empowered to pass any abortion restrictions allowable by federal law.

After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, state lawmakers will be able to pass legislation intended to ban abortion in Kansas if the amendment passes. They would not be required to include exemptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother.

What happens if Kansans vote ‘no’ on the amendment?

If Kansans vote “no,” the state constitution would not change, and the state level right to an abortion would remain even after the recent US Supreme Court ruling. The Legislature would continue to be barred from passing legislation that would restrict abortion access.

Lawmakers could try again to pass the constitutional amendment if it fails. The 2019 decision establishing abortion as a right could also be overruled by justices in the future.

The Star’s Jonathan Shorman and Judy Thomas contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 1, 2022 5:19 PM.

Related stories from Kansas City Star

Profile Image of Katie Bernard

Katie Bernard covers the Kansas Legislature and state government for the Kansas City Star. She joined the Star as a breaking news reporter in May of 2019 before moving to the politics team in December 2020. Katie studied journalism and political science at the University of Kansas.

.