Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Applauds Kansas Voters for Rejecting Anti-Choice Ballot Initiative
Kansans safeguard access to abortion in the first public vote on reproductive freedom since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
Washington, DC — Today, Kansans defeated a constitutional amendment on the 2022 primary ballot that would have paved the way for a total ban on abortion in Kansas. This was the first major public vote on reproductive freedom since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Today’s vote signals to Kansas and the rest of the country that Americans value reproductive freedom and will fight to protect it. NARAL members and organizers in Kansas—working closely with its coalition partners in state—knocked on over 1,200 doors, made over 30,000 phone calls, and sent over 5,000 texts to encourage this outcome.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:
“At a time when reproductive freedom is under unprecedented threat across the country, Kansans said loud and clear at the ballot box: ‘We’ve had enough.’ By safeguarding abortion access, Kansas voters aligned with the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion. In the heartland of the United States, protecting abortion access is galvanizing voters like never before, and that mobilization is only just beginning. Reproductive freedom is a winning issue, now and in November. Anti-choice lawmakers take note: The voters have spoken, and they will turn out at the ballot box to oppose efforts to restrict reproductive freedom. Thank you to Kansans for Constitutional Freedom for their tireless efforts to defeat this ballot initiative. NARAL was proud to support them in this fight.”
In June, the anti-choice supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the legal right to abortion in our country as we know it. Right now, roughly half of the states in the country are at risk of banning abortion. Of those, 14 states have bans in place, and many others are pushing to do the same.
NARAL Pro-Choice America was proud to work in coalition with Kansans for Constitutional Freedom to defeat this initiative, mobilizing voters in the state through door-knocking, phone banking, and more. With our fundamental rights on the line, NARAL and our nearly 35,000 members in Kansas are continuing to organize and mobilize across the country to elect champions up and down the ballot who share our values and will fight for them.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.