February 4, 2021

Kansas Legislators Approve "Value Them Both" Amendment. Voters to Decide in 2022.

Hopefully following in the footsteps of Louisiana, Kansas voters will have the opportunity next year to declare whether their state's Constitution can be interpreted to include a right to abortion.

Last Thursday, the Kansas Senate approved the Value Them Both Amendment by a vote of 86-38. It was previously approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 28-11. As a result, Kansas voters will have the opportunity to vote on the constitutional amendment in August 2022.

The Value Them Both Amendment, much like Louisiana's Love Life Amendment, would state that “the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.”

Kansas lawmakers were motivated to approve the amendment after the 2019 case Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, in which the Kansas Supreme Court declared that the state's constitution included a broad right to abortion. The verdict threatens various pro-life laws in the state, which together have reduced the Kansas abortion rate by 50% since 1999.

Click here to read more.