KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An anti-abortion amendment on the Kansas Aug. 2 ballot has added importance following Friday’s Roe v. Wade ruling by the Supreme Court.
In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution protects a woman's right to abortion.
Because the ruling cites the state constitution, an overturn of Roe v. Wade would not change Kansans' right to abortion.
However, the Republican majority in Kansas proposed an anti-abortion amendment that will go before voters this August.
If a majority of voters approve the amendment to the state constitution, lawmakers would have the right to enact an abortion ban now that Roe v. Wade is overturned.
So, despite abortion currently being legal in Kansas, that could change come August.
In Missouri, legislators had previously passed a trigger law that would take effect if the Supreme Court ever overturned Roe v. Wade. That law, which effectively bans most abortions in the state, took effect Friday morning.
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