KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Abortion will remain a constitutional right in Kansas after voters rejected Amendment 2 on Tuesday at the polls.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the right to abortion was protected by the state constitution.
Abortion opponents sought to amend the state constitution to explicitly remove the right to abortion and allow the Kansas legislature to restrict access to or even ban procedures that end unwanted pregnancies in the state.
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Had Amendment 2 passed, it would have paved the way for Kansas lawmakers to enact strict laws similar to those passed or that went into effect in other states, including Missouri, after the Supreme Court of the United States' ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned the precedent set in Roe v. Wade.
Instead, the state court's determination that abortion is a constitutional right in Kansas, which the court based on language in the state’s Bill of Rights that grants a “natural right of personal autonomy," remains in effect.
Amendment 2 was the first time voters in the U.S. have weighed in on the abortion issue since the Dobbs ruling.
The divisive issue drove high voter turnout for the primary election, which doesn't often draw as many voters as a general election.
It also sparked controversy with some proponents of Amendment 2 sending text messages Monday to voters that were confusing at best, or intentionally deceptive at worst.
Missouri had a trigger law that went into effect after the Dobbs ruling, which outlawed abortion except in the case of medical emergency. Victims of rape and incest no longer have a right to an abortion in Missouri.
