Kansas voters have decided to preserve abortion access in the state, voting down a ballot measure that would pave the way for new restrictions, which is a sign of how unpopular abortion bans may be.
A supporter of the Vote Yes to a Constitutional Amendment on abortion holds up a sign.
The "Value Them Both" ballot measure did not pass according to the AP. No votes vastly outpaced yes votes with about three-quarters of the total votes counted.
The vote was expected to be close, and comes after a July poll had projected the "yes" vote would narrowly prevail.
The ballot measure asked voters if they wanted to amend the state constitution to say that it doesn't require government funding of abortion and that it doesn't create or secure a right to abortion.
The amendment would have allowed the state to ignore the Kansas Supreme Court ruling that the state constitution protects abortion rights.
It is possible that the court could overturn its precedent at some point in the future, as it did in June in Iowa.
The failed ballot measure makes it possible for pregnant women in states that have banned abortion to travel to the state for care.
In recent years, voters in Republican-leaning states have voted against preserving abortion access. Voters in Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee all approved ballot measures specifying their states don't protect abortion rights in the past five years.
Kansas is the first state to have an abortion related ballot measure in the election. Kentucky will have a similar ballot measure that asks voters to specify there isn't a constitutional protection for abortion, while questions in California, Vermont and possibly Michigan will ask voters to codify abortion rights into the state constitutions. Montana voters will be asked if infants who are born alive are legal persons and have the right to medical care. During the general election in November, those votes will be taken.
Kansas is the first state where voters have had a say in abortion policies since the Supreme Court's decision. More than a dozen states will soon have abortion bans in place. Even though abortion bans have already been enacted in some states, polls show they are unpopular with the public. The Kansas vote was seen as a bellwether for how voters feel on abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling, as Democratic strategists and politicians hope the ruling will be a catalyst for pro- abortion rights voters to show up to the polls in November. The only way to shore up abortion rights is by electing a majority Democratic Senate and House that will be able to abolish the filibuster and codify abortion rights in federal law, according to President Joe Biden.
Here is what you need to know about the upcoming vote in Kansas on whether to ban abortion.
The Washington Post explains why Kansas is a bellwether.
Changes in the abortion landscape will be tested by the Kansas referendum.
Michigan may join these states in putting an abortion referendum on the ballot.
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