I am writing this essay as a private citizen, not as a the pastor or representative of Parkview Baptist Church.
On August 2nd you have the opportunity, here in Kansas, to vote on the “Value Them Both” Amendment to the Kansas Constitution. The amendment concerns how we will regulate abortion in Kansas.
If you listen to advocates from both sides of the issue, you get very different ideas about what you are voting for by voting “yes” or voting “no.”
I think the actual content and effect of the amendment is being obscured by misinformation. So, I am writing this to answer three questions. “Why is this vote important?” “What will be the effect of voting ‘yes’ or ‘no?’” and “Why should you vote ‘yes?’”
Here’s why this vote is important.
Just last month the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Since that decision in 1973, states were no longer allowed to totally outlaw abortion in their state. But, they have been allowed to place some limits on abortion.
Since 1973, the Kansas legislature has passed several laws limiting abortions in our state. This is a list of some of those limits;
(This information is from the Kansas City Star; July 12, 2022.)
Abortion is strictly limited after 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Patients must receive mandatory state-written materials. They include information about abortion risks and other pregnancy options. Patients then must wait 24 hours before proceeding with the abortion.
Patients must undergo an ultrasound and be given the option to view the image on a monitor before an abortion can be performed.
Administering abortion via telemedicine, which involves a video consultation with a doctor followed by sending abortion pills to the patient, is prohibited in Kansas.
Taxpayer money does not fund abortion.
Abortion by “dilation and evacuation” is prohibited.
Patients under the age of 18 must get permission to have an abortion. If they can’t get permission from a parent or guardian, they must petition a judge for a judicial bypass.
Those are laws that currently regulate abortion in Kansas. But something happened in April of 2019 that could make all of those regulations disappear.
And up until April of 2019, our Kansas Supreme Court upheld our state representative’s rights to regulate abortion in our state. But in April of that year the Kansas Supreme Court heard a case that challenged one of those existing State laws restricting abortion.
This is a summary of that case that I found on NPR.org.
The court took up the question of a constitutional right to abortion after two abortion providers in Overland Park, Kan., doctors Herbert Hodes and his daughter, Traci Nauser, challenged a ban on dilation and evacuation abortions passed by the Legislature in 2015.
The law known as the Kansas Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act prohibits dilation and evacuation abortions except when necessary to preserve the life of the mother, prevent impairment of a major bodily function of the mother or where the fetus is already dead. The law was the first in the nation to ban the procedure, which is used for nearly all second-trimester abortions.
The procedure only accounts for 9 percent of abortions in Kansas. Anti-abortion-rights activists call it "dismemberment abortion," but it is known medically as dilation and evacuation, or D&E.
In the Kansas Supreme Court ruling, the majority of the judges decided that our Kansas constitution, in the Bill of Rights, written in 1859, gave women the right to an abortion. This is a baffling conclusion to come to considering that almost all abortion was illegal in 1859. This is what our Kansas Supreme Court wrote in the 2019 ruling;
By ruling in this way, the court not only allowed dismemberment as an abortion method, they also effectively opened the door to challenge any law in Kansas that restricts abortion in any way. The ruling would also block any new law restricting abortion in our state. As things stand now, if nothing changes, every abortion restriction in Kansas could be challenged and overturned based on this ruling by the court that found the right to an abortion in our Kansas Constitution.
So, as we stand now, in Kansas there are no viable laws restricting abortion. No age restrictions, no parental consent laws, no restrictions on how an abortion can be performed, no restrictions on the number of weeks the pregnancy has progressed. That’s where we are now. And it would be pointless for our legislature to pass new laws, because they would be overturned by the current Kansas Supreme Court that found the right to an abortion in the Kansas Bill of Rights.
So, what if the majority of our citizens and their elected representatives believe that there should be some restrictions on abortion, what can they do? The only way to continue regulating abortions in Kansas is not with new law, but rather by amending the Kansas Constitution.
Here is the amendment that will be voted on August 2nd.
§ 22. Regulation of abortion. Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.
There is a lot of misinformation about what this amendment will and won’t do.
What will be the effect of voting “yes” or “no?”
So, if the “yes’s” win, all that will happen after August 2nd is that you will give our Kansas legislatures the authority to regulate abortion in our state. There are presently some abortion restrictions on the books that will immediately take effect. But then the debate will begin about whether any existing law should be removed, or if any new law should be enacted.
But if the “no’s” win on August 2nd, the Kansas legislature will be restricted from making or enforcing any law limiting abortion. If the “no” vote prevails, then for all practical purposes, all abortion restrictions in our state will be presumed unconstitutional. And if any legislative body tries to enforce any existing abortion law, it will be challenged and likely declared unconstitutional by our state Supreme court.
What will the long-term effect of voting “no” be?
A “no” vote will effectively sideline abortion as an issue in future Kansas elections. Since the Kansas legislature will have no authority to regulate abortion, whether a candidate is pro-life or pro-choice will be far less significant. If the amendment passes what a candidate believes about abortion regulation will be a pivotal issue. If the majority of Kansans decide that there should be no law restricting abortion in August, they will elect people who will go to Topeka and abolish all abortion restricting laws and will probably move to extend state funding of abortion. On the other hand, if the majority believe that there should be some restrictions, and vote “yes” in August, in November they can elect people to go to Topeka and consider what laws restricting abortion should be on the books.
What else will voting “no” do?
If the “no” vote prevails, we will join Colorado, among our neighboring states as a safe haven for those seeking abortion. Oklahoma, and Missouri have banned abortion, and Nebraska severely limits it. So, Kansas could become an abortion destination state. In other words, all those who are unable to get an abortion in Oklahoma, Missouri, or Nebraska could simply cross state lines into Kansas to obtain them legally at any point of their pregnancy.
By the way, there are 24 states that have chosen to restrict abortion in some way. Among them are our neighbors, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska. There are only nine states that have courts who claimed that the right to an abortion can be found in their state constitution. The nine states are Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and New Jersey.
Iowa used to be one of those states, but their Supreme court, in June, overturned an earlier decision finding the right to an abortion in their constitution. I tell you all of that to let you know that every state is grappling with this issue. It is no longer a U.S. Supreme Court issue; it is a state-by-state issue. So, we in Kansas need to decide whether we will stand by the decision of the seven justices on the Kansas Supreme Court who stripped our representatives of any power to regulate abortion, or whether we will give them back the power to represent us by making laws according to the will of the state’s people.
Why should you vote “yes.”
We all may have different opinions about how abortion should be regulated. Some of you, like myself may believe that it should be severely limited, others may believe that there should be exceptions written into our laws. But I believe that most of us believe that it should be regulated/limited in some way.
Well, you might ask, “What laws and restrictions will be written?” At this point we don’t know. The laws of Kansas will be in the hands of those that we elect to represent us.
But it’s important to note that the August 2nd vote does not say what those laws will be, it only allows our representatives to decide on the laws for the state of Kansas.
Let me clarify. The August 2nd vote doesn’t put any new law on the Kansas books about abortion. This vote doesn’t limit abortion in any way. All it does is give back to our representatives the ability to make laws about abortion in the state of Kansas.
So, if you think that our state representatives should be able to represent us and decide on restrictions to abortion, you should vote “yes.” In that case, we in Kansas will be able to vote for people according to what we believe. If we believe minors shouldn’t be able to get an abortion without parental knowledge, or if we believe that late term abortions should be restricted, or if we believe that a woman should be given information about adoption before abortion, or if we believe that abortion by dismemberment is wrong, or if we believe that our tax dollars shouldn’t go to provide abortion, if we vote “yes” our legislatures will be able to make those laws.
But, if you think that a woman should have the right to an abortion, and that there should be no law restricting it in any way, if you believe that a woman should be able to get an abortion at any time from the first week of conception all the way to the ninth month, or if you think that minors should be allowed to get abortions without parental consent or knowledge, or if you believe that abortions should be provided with no required education about adoption services, or the understanding that this is a human being inside the mother, or if you believe that our tax dollars can and should be used to provide abortion without limits, and that a baby can be aborted by “dilation and evacuation” or dismemberment all the way from conception to the ninth month, and that abortion should be allowed to proceed unrestricted in Kansas, then vote “no” on August 2nd.
My primary objective in writing this article was to ensure that those within my circle of influence were informed about this amendment. I hope I have accomplished that.
Now, I bet you can guess how I am going to vote. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am a pastor. I believe the Bible and try to obey its precepts.
And the Bible is clear about the value of human life from conception to death. It is clear about the role of government in protecting life.
This amendment will not cure all the ills of our society. It will not stop all abortions in our state. The only thing that will make the world what it should be is if every person came to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, I don’t vote “yes” with some blind hope that our society will move toward godliness because it has godly laws. I vote “yes” because it is my small part in bearing witness to the law of God, and the love of God for every living human being.
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