The inhabitants of this state of the Midwest, however, conservative, largely rejected on Tuesday by referendum a proposal aimed at suppressing the right to abortion inscribed in the constitution of Kansas. This ballot, the first since the judgment of the Supreme Court returning to the federal right to abortion, was seen as a political test at the national level.
Le Monde with AFP
Kansas voters, in the American Midwest, spoke on Tuesday August 2, for the maintenance of the constitutional guarantee on abortion, during the first major ballot in abortion since the Supreme Court of States- United canceled federal law in abortion.
The inhabitants of this conservative state rejected an amendment which would have deleted the text guaranteeing the right to abortion in the constitution of the State and could have paved the way for stricter regulations or a prohibition. The result in Kansas means that abortion will remain authorized up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. Parental authorization is required for minors.
This ballot was seen as a political test at the national level, many conservative states having already prohibited or counting quickly prohibiting any straight for abortion.
A few moments after the polling stations closed at 7 p.m. (2 a.m. on Wednesday in Paris), Scott Schwab, responsible for supervising the elections in Kansas, said that participation was at least 50 % , a figure in accordance with expectations for this type of ballot.
At noon, nearly 250 voters had passed through the polling station of Olathe, in the suburbs of Kansas City, the same number at this time as during a presidential election, according to the electoral agent Marsha Barrett. “This election is crazy, she said to the France-Presse agency (AFP). People are determined to vote.”
At 19, Morgan Spoor voted for the first time and ensured that he wanted to promote “the right to choose”. “I really want to make my voice heard, especially as a woman. I don’t think anyone can say what a woman can do with her body,” she said.
Chris Ehly, resident of Prairie Village, also spoke out against the modification of the Constitution in order to “respect” his wife and daughter, “categorical on the issue”, he explained.
On the contrary, Sylvia Brantley, 60, said “yes” to change because she thinks that “babies also count”. She explained that she wanted more regulations, so that Kansas is not a place “where babies are killed”.
a state with contrasting political reality
Even if the supporters of the “no” won a clear victory in Kansas, they observe with anxiety the neighboring states of the Missouri and Oklahoma, which imposed almost total prohibitions. The Missouri does not admit exceptions in the event of rape or incest.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, must vote on the issue in November, at the same time as the mid-term elections in the Congress during which Republican and Democrats hope to mobilize their supporters around abortion .
The vote, which coincided with the primaries of Kansas, represented the first opportunity for American voters to express their point of view on abortion since the Supreme Court canceled its historic judgment of 1973, Roe v. Wade. Democrats have a lot to do with the right to abortion, while conservatives are generally favorable to at least a few restrictions.
But in Kansas, political reality is more complicated. The state is strongly leaning Republican and has not voted for a Democrat in the White House since 1964. But the most populous county of Kansas elected a democrat, Sharice Davids, in the House of Representatives in 2018, and the governor of The state, Laura Kelly, is a democrat. According to a 2021 survey, less than 20 % of Kansas respondents agree that abortion should be illegal even in the event of rape or incest.