(Updated to correct that state constitutional amendments were passed to ensure that abortion rights are not protected)
Kansans for Life will wait until next year before it pushes for a change in the state constitution after the state Supreme Court found that state law protects a woman’s right to an abortion.
Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, said in an interview that the group prefers to wait until 2020 — an election year — before pushing ahead with a change in the constitution.
“We’d rather wait until next year when we have the time to plan this out properly,” Culp said.
A decision to not push ahead this year will take pressure off a Legislature that will be faced with taxes, Medicaid expansion and the budget when it convenes next week.
The anti-abortion community has been vowing to try to amend the state constitution if it was found to protect the right to an abortion. Now, Culp says KFL will hold off for the moment to make sure the issue is dealt with correctly.
A constitutional amendment will take support from two-thirds of the Legislature. The votes could very well be there, judged on the support for a so-called abortion reversal bill this year. But it would need to be approved at the ballot box, as well.
“We plan to take the time necessary to plan a comprehensive, successful strategy to amend our constitution to guarantee our right as citizens, parents and grandparents to protect women we love from from the clutches of an aggressive, for-profit abortion industry,” Culp said.
Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty said the issue could energize conservative voters in 2020.
“Kansas is a state where the abortion issue can really help bring out the vote,” Beatty said.
“The 2020 election is full of a lot of unknowns and a lot of wildcards. This, however, is a bit of staple in Kansas politics. We know this issue would bring out more conservative voters.”
Earlier this year, Iowa lawmakers tried to amend their constitution after getting a similar Supreme Court ruling in that state. However, that legislation ultimately died.
Three other states — Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia — have amended their constitutions to ensure that the right to abortion is not protected in the event the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
The West Virginia amendment won with about 52 percent of the vote in 2018. The Alabama amendment won with 59 percent of the vote. The Tennessee amendment won with 53 percent in 2014.
