Kansas held the nation's first test of voter feelings about the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, with people statewide deciding Tuesday whether to allow their conservative Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. In a resounding win for the abortion rights movement, the state voted to reject an effort to remove abortion protections from the state's constitution.
"This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions," President Biden said in a statement following the vote. "Congress should listen to the will of the American people and restore the protections of Roe as federal law," NPR reported Biden as saying.
60 per cent voted against removing the right to abortion after frenzied campaigns on both sides. Kansas does not restrict abortion in the state. Abortions however cannot take place after 22 weeks of pregnancy, unless the pregnancy poses dangers to the life of the woman. The state also requires the person to take an ultrasound before going for an abortion.
Supporters of the measure wouldn't say before the vote whether they intend to pursue a ban if it passes, but they've spent decades pushing for new restrictions on a nearly annual basis and many other states in the Midwest and South have banned abortion in recent weeks.
Abortion rights advocates expect the Legislature to ban abortion if the ballot measure passes, and in a surge of early-voting the electorate was more Democratic than usual.
--With PTI inputs
