Kansas Republicans seek to curb abortion access despite statewide vote

Kansas voters shocked the nation last year when they overwhelmingly rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have said there is no fundamental right to abortion. But that didn’t stop Kansas Republicans from opening the 2023 legislative session with an attempt to curb abortion access.

After the Republican-controlled state legislature convened last week, GOP leaders laid out an agenda that included additional restrictions on abortion and more funding for crisis pregnancy centers, which work to prevent people from getting abortions. He also noted the 2019 decision of the Kansas Supreme Court in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidtwhich establishes the right to abortion in the country’s constitution, is a key target.

He did not specify what the additional abortion restrictions would be; The Kansas GOP and leadership in both legislative chambers did not respond to requests for comment. But abortion advocates expect everything from a ban on abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy to more restrictions on abortion providers and abortion services offered via telemedicine.

Kansas already has some of the toughest restrictions nationwide with outright bans. Abortion is currently legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and, after that, only in cases where the health of the pregnant person is at risk. There are also some other restrictions on the procedure, including parental consent requirements for minors and restrictions on insurance coverage. Still, it serves as a regional refuge for those living in neighboring countries with more restrictive policies.

Although some national Republicans called the result of last year’s referendum in Kansas as a “wake-up call” at the time, it does not seem like the Kansas GOP has seen it as such. However, Republicans in the state are digging in, despite the fact that Kansans voted 59 to 41 percent to save abortion rights.

“[A]anti-abortion politicians either forget how elections work or don’t care about the will of the electorate,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes. “It seems the latter, because in the first week of the session they have doubled down on the plan to attack reproductive freedom.”

The Kansas GOP is still targeting the state’s constitutional right to abortion

At Hoods The case is at the center of the Kansas GOP’s 2023 strategy.

Hoods established that the Kansas constitution protects the right to abortion in even broader terms than Roe v. Wade once do federally. The state government can only infringe on that right when it can demonstrate “a strong interest and has taken action consistent with that interest,” according to the decision. As a result, the court struck down state bans on dilation and evacuation procedures, the most common method of performing abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy.

Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson argued at a press conference last week that Democrats want “unregulated abortion until and, in some cases you see around the country, after birth,” and, “with Hoods in place, we have that potential. All the limits of our common sense are attacked.

But in a red state like Kansas, Democrats have been reluctant to share a divisive position on abortion and some have even voted for abortion restrictions in the past. Now, he seems more concerned about keeping abortions safe and legal and making sure Republicans don’t impose more restrictions on the procedure.

And according to the most recent data available as of 2021, no Kansans had an abortion beyond 22 weeks of pregnancy. Hoods it was decided, and yet, it is impossible for the procedure to be carried out, abortion after birth anywhere in the country.

Despite all this, Masterson and other Republicans call for a legal basis Hoods to be tested.

To that end, Kansas Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach, who describes himself as “100% pro-life,” announced Wednesday that he plans to ask the state’s supreme court to reconsider the ruling. Hoods on the basis of the decision of the US Supreme Court last year overturning Roe v. Wade and found that the US Constitution does not grant a right to abortion.

“One of the things that affects courts reconsidering precedent is intervening events,” Kobach told the Associated Press. “There was an intervention event.”

If Hoods repealed, Republicans won’t face the same legal restrictions on imposing restrictions on abortion — and could potentially prevent access not just for Kansans, but for out-of-state patients seeking care from all over.

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would lower the bar for impeachment of Kansas Supreme Court justices. While it’s unclear whether the Republican base will be able to sway the justices, it appears to be a way to change the makeup of the court to favor anti-abortion advocates. They have also indicated that they want to reintroduce a constitutional amendment that requires Kansas Supreme Court nominees to be confirmed by the Kansas Senate, which has been controlled by Republicans for more than a century. (A similar move failed last year.)

Currently, judges are nominated based on merit by a nine-member nominating commission and then appointed by the governor. After their first year in office, they must win a retention vote to serve for another six years before facing another retention vote. All seven judges on the court survived last year’s retention vote.

Are Kansas Republicans digging in their heels on abortion

The strategy of Kansas Republicans on abortion may seem foolish in the face of the spectacular failure of abortion amendments and the re-election of Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, who has vetoed several Republican bills aimed at restricting abortion and has indicated that she will continue to do so this term. The GOP actually has a super majority this term, but that means the party has the votes to override Kelly’s veto.

The election protecting abortion access also saw Republicans retain their majority. In fact, the GOP caucus is becoming more conservative. Republican lawmakers were elected when they made no secret of their anti-abortion positions, so they have a duty to advance their agenda, said Bob Beatty, a political analyst and professor at Washburn University in Topeka.

“It will take more than two votes statewide to convince them to be moderate on abortion. If they are not punished at the ballot box, they have no incentive to change,” he said.

Republicans in the country have also long relied on the abortion issue to prove their conservative bona fides, and old habits die hard.

“In this part of the country, many politicians violate anti-abortion laws. It’s almost like a rite of passage,” said Zack Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesman for the Women’s Trust, which operates an abortion clinic in Wichita.

That may be true for GOP lawmakers who want to run for governor in four years, Beatty said. Although no one has officially announced their candidacy, Kelly is limited, and Masterson has been floated as a Republican contender.

Now, the decision of the Kansas Supreme Court in Hoods remain in place, and that’s the only limit to how far Kansas Republicans can go, even with the ability to overrule the governor’s veto. This means that anti-abortion rhetoric may not translate into actual policy.

“It’s a waste of time and resources on questions that have been decided in several places, not only in court, but also through ballot measures,” Gingrich-Gaylord said.

In the absence of changes made by the court, the strategy of Kansas Republicans seems to be to try to do what they can to limit abortion and hope that the law remains legal. In the process, he appears eager to seize any opportunity to appeal to future Republican primary voters.

If there is a reduction in abortion access in Kansas, that will reverberate throughout the region. Gingrich-Gaylord said 70 percent of Trust Women’s patients at the Kansas clinic come from Texas, which passed an abortion ban last year. A few weeks ago, the clinic received more than 16,000 calls inquiring about the service in one day.

“We’re experiencing this permanent bottleneck,” he said. “So we enter this session with a bit of trepidation — but also resilience and dedication to making sure the legislature remembers its vote in August.”