The citizens of the state of Kansas go to the polls on Tuesday to vote on whether or not abortion rights should be restricted.
It is the first time an abortion referendum has been held in a state since the national right to self-determined abortion was removed in the United States in June.
– Now the opponents of abortion in Kansas will try to change the state constitution, so that in the next round they can adopt a ban on abortion, says US expert Hilmar Mjelde.
There has been intense mobilization to win votes on both sides, and great excitement is attached to the result.
Mjelde himself has lived in Kansas, and believes that the opponents of abortion will get their way.
– It is very even, but I would probably think that the opponents of abortion will get a majority here and will be able to remove the right to abortion from the state constitution, says Mjelde.
– CAMPAIGNS: In recent weeks, cities in Kansas have been filled with rival signs saying “vote yes” or “vote no” on the proposal to change the abortion wording in the state constitution. Photo: Reuters / NTB
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– Then Kansas will eventually introduce an almost total ban on abortion, but it will take some time, he says.
Will change wording
Today, abortion is legal until week 22 in Kansas, a right stemming from a 2019 state Supreme Court decision.
Yes voters want the federal state to change the wording that guarantees the right to abortion, and believe this will allow the politicians to make a decision without legal intervention.
Among these is the spokesperson for the “Value Them Both” campaign, Mackenzie Haddix.
– It will simply restore our ability to have a conversation, says Haddix to the AFP news agency.
– “YES”: Yes voters want to allow politicians to make their own decision about the right to abortion, which provokes strong reactions. Photo: Reuters / NTB
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The No voters, on the other hand, believe that the campaign is an attempt to ensure a direct ban on abortion in the state assembly.
– The amendment will take away a right and freedom that the entire population of Kansas enjoys, says Ashley All, spokesperson for the “No” campaign Kansas for Constitutional Freedom (KCF).
– Afraid of the further level of conflict
Mjelde explains that the goal of the anti-abortion movement in the USA is that fetuses should be considered human beings, and that having an abortion should be characterized as murder, and thus be illegal.
– This case is far from over yet. The last time the United States had a debate about how to define a human life was in the 1850s, and then the topic was slavery. At that time there was a civil war in the USA, says Mjelde.
He does not believe that the abortion issue is enough to trigger a civil war, but:
– With so much buzzing and bubbling in American politics now, with the abortion issue, mistrust of the electoral system, mass shootings and the fact that it has gotten so bogged down, I am afraid for political stability and the level of conflict going forward, says Mjelde.
The Supreme Court ruling Roe vs. Wade was overturned at the end of June, ending nearly 50 years of federal abortion rights in the United States.
– FEELINGS: Opponents of abortion celebrated after the Supreme Court ruling just over a month ago. Photo: Reuters / NTB
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– It is a very, very inflamed issue. In many other cultural conflict matters, the US has become more and more liberal, but the abortion issue in particular has never subsided, says Mjelde.
Since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, a number of states have introduced banning abortion laws. A total of 30 out of 50 US states have announced that they will tighten or change the rights to abortion, according to an overview from New York Times.
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