The referendum was the first electoral test of public opinion in the US since the Supreme Court in June stripped federal protections for the process. According to a projection by The Associated Press late Tuesday night, voters rejected the so-called Value Them Both amendment, with early returns showing a crushing defeat for Republicans who organized the vote as well as the anti-abortion activists who support it. the “Yes”. campaign. The result followed a fierce campaign that drew national attention, coming shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that gave states the right to regulate abortion. Analysts said the victory for the abortion rights movement in a conservative state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 suggests the public backlash to the Supreme Court decision may be stronger than expected. was expected. It could also energize the abortion rights movement ahead of several other planned ballot measures for Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections, they added. “A win in a red state will help the pro-choice movement in fundraising and recruiting volunteers as they look to upcoming votes in other states,” said Michael Smith, a politics professor at Emporia State University in Kansas. He said Kansans can normally count on electing Republicans at the state and national level, but he didn’t approve of everything the party proposed because of a libertarian streak and a distaste for big government. “That could be taxes or proposals from Democrats. But this vote suggests it can also apply to regulating our bodies,” Smith said. Neal Allen, a political analyst at Wichita State University, said the victory was significant and suggested that Republicans will have a hard time winning planned referendums on abortion restrictions in other states.
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“If you can’t win an abortion restriction vote in Kansas, then you probably can only win in a few states,” Allen said. The proposed Value Them Both amendment would have overturned a 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that ruled women had the right to make decisions about their bodies, including whether to terminate a pregnancy. The amendment was pushed by conservative lawmakers and church groups who wanted to amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to pass laws restricting access to abortion. Planned Parenthood, one of the biggest funders of the anti-referendum campaign, said the result meant Kansas would remain one of the only states in the region to protect abortion and a critical access point for women from neighboring states with bans.