Yes, you can still get an abortion in Kansas today.
Kansas voters elected on Aug. 2, 2022 to keep protection for abortion in the state constitution by a nearly 60-40 margin. Read more about that at this link.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Legal scholar and KU professor hopes her students never lose the right to abortion that she had
If she hadn’t received an abortion at age 19, Sarah Deer said she would not have become the person she is today. She has reached great heights of success as a legal scholar, advocate and more.
Christina Craig/Lawrence Times
Kansas voters soundly defeat amendment that could’ve led to abortion ban
In an outcome that may ripple through politics nationwide, Kansas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly defeated a constitutional amendment that could have led to the banning of abortion in the state.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
‘This vote is final’: Lawmakers emphasize weight of Kansas amendment vote ahead of Tuesday election
Tuesday’s vote is the last opportunity for Kansas voters to protect the state’s current abortion rights, Democratic legislators say. And if the amendment on the ballot passes, there will be little to no opportunity anytime soon for it to be overturned.
Video: How they’re voting on Aug. 2
Proponents call it the “Value them Both” amendment. These women would dispute that characterization. And much misinformation has swirled around the amendment ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Lawrence mother reflects on joy in choice to end a pregnancy to center her daughter and herself
Before she got an abortion last year, Bulaong Ramiz said she never saw herself as someone who would do so. But when the time came, she chose herself and her then-2-year-old daughter who needed her.
Contributed Photo
Topeka woman reflects on traumatic experiences and choosing her own path through her reproductive journey
Though she chose to give birth after both of her pregnancies, Joe Cheray valued her ability to make those decisions in her reproductive health journey, especially since her bodily autonomy has been stolen by men starting at an early age and throughout her life.
Iris Cliff/Lawrence Times
Lawrence women reflect on their reasons for ending their pregnancies
Two Lawrence women who faced unintended pregnancies in their 30s — one in a thriving, long-term marriage and the other in the midst of a toxic and abusive relationship — shared their personal accounts of ending their pregnancies by abortion.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Access to emergency treatment saved Lawrence mom’s life and enabled her to have three more children
In early 2009, Sarah Smith wanted to be pregnant — but she had two pregnancies that could have been fatal for her. Life-saving health care enabled her to have three more children.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
‘Incompatible with life’ diagnosis, Kansas abortion laws led Lawrence mom to seek health care outside state
In May 2017, Kayla Deere thought she had passed the halfway point of her pregnancy when abnormal sonogram findings alerted her doctor to complications.
If the baby survived birth, he might only live for seconds, minutes, hours, a day. And he would experience trauma.
Who’s getting abortions in Kansas? Plus more FAQs ahead of the Aug. 2 vote
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, voters statewide will decide on an issue that could permanently change Kansans’ health care rights.
Who’s getting abortions in Kansas? Here are some stats, plus answers to some FAQs about the amendment vote and what it means.
Anti-abortion groups make dubious claims as Kansas amendment vote nears
Claims made by campaigns for and against a constitutional amendment undoing Kansans’ right to an abortion look like descriptions of two different realities.
Christina Craig / Lawrence Times
Kansas abortion ban is the plan, officials pushing constitutional amendment tell GOP crowd
A regional director of the Value Them Both Coalition told a meeting of Reno County Republicans last month that the organization has legislation ready to ban abortion in Kansas if voters adopt a constitutional amendment Aug. 2.
Kansans: Get registered and get ready to vote
Here’s our quick and easy voter guide — find out how to quickly register to vote, what’s on the Aug. 2 ballot, and choose how to cast your ballot in Douglas County, Kansas.
Yes, you can still get an abortion right now in Kansas
Nothing has changed in Kansas, and those who need access to an abortion can still get one. But that could change on Aug. 2.
Kansas’ anti-abortion amendment wording is purposely confusing, panelists say
The “Value Them Both” amendment would pave the way to a complete ban of abortion in Kansas despite language implying otherwise, panelists said Saturday. If the majority votes “yes” in August, legislators could ban abortions even in cases of rape, incest, and risk of death.
Resources:
• Kansas Abortion Fund
• Planned Parenthood Great Plains
• Abortion (medication & in-clinic) in Overland Park (Planned Parenthood)
• Center for Women’s Health in Overland Park
• Find an abortion provider (nationwide)
More abortion coverage:
As Kansas lawmakers target abortion rights, opposition unites at Statehouse
If Lila and Margaret Bhattarai had their way, they would replace “incredibly misogynistic” legislation floating around the Statehouse with laws that protect people’s rights to do what they want with their own bodies. The sisters from Lawrence joined a coalition of people from across the state who gathered Monday at the Capitol to leverage their voices against a multitude of anti-abortion and anti-transgender proposals.
After Roe, more women head to Kansas clinics and more Kansans get abortion pills from overseas
Abortions at Kansas clinics rose 36% after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — and the number of Kansans ordering abortion pills from overseas doubled.
The Commons at KU to launch series of discussions on reproductive justice
The Commons at KU is planning a series of discussions this fall with researchers in disciplines from across the university that will highlight the complexities of reproductive justice.
What voters should know about the Kansas Supreme Court and the next abortion battleground
Six of the seven Kansas Supreme Court justices face retention during the Nov. 8 election. Conservatives who disagree with the ruling that concluded the state constitution includes the right to an abortion could try to change the court.
Most Kansas voters want abortion access, but their legislators may further restrict it anyway
Kansans decisively rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion. But many conservative lawmakers will go unchallenged at the ballot box this year, allowing them to continue the push to restrict abortion access in the legislature.
Here are the places in Douglas County where voters said ‘no’ the loudest
A strong majority of voters at all 44 of Douglas County’s polling places voted “no” Tuesday in order to protect abortion rights. But in the heart of Lawrence, in particular, voters said “no” loud and proud.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Legal scholar and KU professor hopes her students never lose the right to abortion that she had
If she hadn’t received an abortion at age 19, Sarah Deer said she would not have become the person she is today. She has reached great heights of success as a legal scholar, advocate and more.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Vote No Kansas, Douglas County Democrats cheer defeat of constitutional amendment on abortion
Anxiety turned into hope and then into relief Tuesday night as voting results for Kansas’ abortion amendment came in to election watch parties in Lawrence. Melinda Lavon, of Vote No Kansas, said the outcome was a triumph of organization.
Kansas abortion-rights activists emphasized attack on personal rights to defeat amendment
For Ashley All, the effort to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have eliminated abortion rights is the most consequential campaign the Kansas political veteran has worked on.
Christina Craig/Lawrence Times
Kansas voters soundly defeat amendment that could’ve led to abortion ban
In an outcome that may ripple through politics nationwide, Kansas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly defeated a constitutional amendment that could have led to the banning of abortion in the state.
Election results: Kansas’ abortion amendment vote, Douglas County Commission primary and more
Result charts here for the big 3 ballot items for Lawrence voters: the constitutional amendment, Douglas County Commission District 1 Democratic primary, and U.S. Senate primaries.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Voters hitting the polls in Douglas County; turnout is ‘extremely heavy’
Voters are flocking to the polls in Lawrence as a routine summer primary election is overshadowed and supercharged by a vote on a constitutional amendment that could decide the future of abortion in Kansas.
ARCHIVED:
These articles touched on the key things to know about the Aug. 2, 2022 vote:
Find more election coverage at this link.
Related opinion pieces:
Ami Helmer: I was trained my entire life to end Roe (Column)
“Oh, my friends. I wish I could share your shock, but I do share your grief,” Ami Helmer writes in this column.
Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence: Survivors must be allowed to make own health care decisions (Column)
“We know that the trauma and violence of sexual assault and domestic violence strike at the core of a victim’s ability to control their own life. … Regaining personal autonomy is fundamental to healing and survival,” KCSDV writes in this column.
Hannah Bailey: What can we learn from Kansas’ history of forced sterilization? (Column)
“By applying an either/or rhetoric to a highly nuanced and medically complex issue, anti-abortion advocates are assuring that lawyers, hospital staff, and political entities will ultimately make decisions about pregnancy and abortion care,” Hannah Bailey writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Kansas can lead the way again
“In 1912, Kansas became the eighth state to give women the right to vote, eight years before the national women’s suffrage amendment was ratified. Kansans now have the opportunity to lead the way again,” Elizabeth B. A. Miller writes in this letter to the Times.
Letter to the Times: Vote ‘no’ to protect constitutional rights
“Kansas already has highly restricted abortion care with no government funding, and that will continue if we vote ‘no,’” write Carol Williamson and Lori Hutfles, co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County.
Letter to the Times: Are you really going to force a child to have a baby?
“Abortion bans — particularly for children who get pregnant by a family member — are just plain cruel. And that’s what’s at stake if the proposed constitutional amendment on the Aug. 2 ballot passes,” Amii N. Castle writes in this letter to the Times.
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