KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas legislators are reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court's leak of a draft that would overturn Roe v Wade.
If the court votes to toss out longstanding abortion rights, making it a state-to-state decision, Kansas and Missouri would be split.
In Kansas, voters will decide in August whether to ban abortions or not, while in Missouri, abortions would immediately become illegal due to "trigger laws."
"I hope that people realize really how monumental this is and it's setting the stage for generations and generations to come," Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said.
The move to reverse the landmark Roe v Wade case, which legalized abortion nationally, will mean the amendment will dictate the future of health care access in Kansas, but it will also be the first major post-Roe landmark in the country.
"We want our laws that protect the woman and the child to be upheld in the state of Kansas," Kansas Senator Molly Baumgardner said.
Kansas legislators remain on opposite ends of the debate.
"It's really setting the stage for a complete ban on abortion, even for rape, incest or if even the life of the mother is at jeopardy," Sykes said.
One thing Kansas democrats and republicans agree on is the importance of getting Kansans prepared to vote in the August Primary.
"I think we're going to see a very large turnout because of this issue," Baumgardner said.
On average, about 30% of Kansas voters show up to vote in the primaries, but Kansas legislators expect higher voter turnout if Roe v Wade is struck down.
