Ballot Measure Nixing Right to Abortion in Kansas Fails

John HaugheyAugust 2, 2022

The majority of Kansas voters disapproved of a ballot measure that proclaims there is no right to abortion under the state’s Constitution in an Aug. 2 special election that drew intense interest as the nation’s first public referendum on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court repealed the Roe vs. Wade decision in June.

According to unofficial results from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, the hotly contested ‘Value Them Both’ amendment garnered 65 percent “no” votes as of 10:10 p.m. ET on Aug. 2. Decision Desk HQ projected that the measure will not pass at 9:47 p.m. ET.

The controversial proposed constitutional amendment generated more than $13 million in campaign spending by proponents and opponents and dramatically boosted turnout for a primary ballot that otherwise featured few competitive races.

Adoption of the measure is the culmination of years of lobbying by Kansas Right-to-Life organizations, which were dealt a blow in 2019 when the state’s Supreme Court overturned the 2015 “Kansas Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act.”

That 2019 decision determined Section 1 of the state Constitution’s Bill of Rights protects a woman’s right to abortion, making Kansas one of 10 states where court rulings granted the right to abortion.

The “Value Them Both” amendment states it will “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 Value Them Both coalition argued establishing legislative authority through a constitutional amendment was necessary to ensure the Sunflower State doesn’t become “a destination state for the abortion industry.”

The Value Them Both coalition’s website emphasized that and proponents of the measure spent $4.69 million in messaging to stress adoption