Commonwealth Policy Center

Voters in Kansas rejected a constitutional amendment that said abortion isn’t a protected right under their state constitution. A judicial ruling declared abortion was a protected right in 2019, and many voters who voted against the amendment falsely believed that abortion is somehow constitutional and protected under their constitution. Both sides spent about 6 million dollars to convince voters. But the “Vote No” side prevailed with about 60 percent of the voter. This was the first major abortion battle at the ballot box since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade in June. Kentucky has a similar amendment on the ballot this November. It simply stops state judges from saying that abortion is constitutional even though abortion isn’t mentioned in the constitution. In other words, the Amendment would prevent a Roe v Wade ruling at the state level.