Kansas lawmakers vote on abortion measure; passage unsure

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


John Hanna, Ap Political Writer
Updated 1:31 pm CST, Friday, February 7, 2020



TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican legislators moved Friday to vote in the Kansas House on a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution without initially having the votes to get it through the GOP-controlled Legislature and onto the ballot.

GOP leaders were looking to win over a few reluctant lawmakers, either moderate Republicans or Democrats in relatively conservative districts. They were keeping House members locked in their seats without closing the roll to give themselves time to make telephone calls at their desks, using a process that could take much of the day as long as other members were absent.

And Kansans for Life, the state's most influential anti-abortion group, sought to ramp up the pressure on wavering lawmakers even as they voted. The group said it would work to block expansion of the state's Medicaid health coverage for the poor until the proposed amendment went on the ballot. Medicaid expansion is a key priority of Democrats and many GOP moderates.

The proposed amendment would overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state's Bill of Rights. The measure would declare that the constitution doesn't secure a right to abortion and allow lawmakers to enact restrictions as they have in the past.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/Kansas-anti-abortion-measure-short-of-passage-15038275.php

[noneof_theabove]

1. remove religion from government in Nov 2020

the people are ruining our country.

To wit:
Party of the first party:
father if known
family
[ spiritual advisor - supporter but not a legal counsel ]

NO ONE ELSE !
that is it in abortion and even same sex marriage.

If you are not female....no dog in the race.

If you do not believe in same sex marriage....get an opposite sex partner

Don't like this and other things on the TV, change channels or turn it off.

You have a right to your religious beliefs but that does not include shoving it down my throat

[George II]

2. Sharice Davids tweeted a few minutes ago that the bill failed:

Link to tweet

[riversedge]

3. Kansas GOP lawmakers fail in anti-abortion amendment effort

Safe until the repugs try again


Kansas GOP lawmakers fail in anti-abortion amendment effort

https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/Kansas-anti-abortion-measure-short-of-passage-15038275.php#photo-18997013

John Hanna, Ap Political Writer Updated 4:18 pm CST, Friday, February 7, 2020

Kansas state Reps. from left, Jim Kelly, R-Independence; Tom Phillips, R-Manhattan, and Susan Concannon, R-Beloit, listen during a meeting of GOP lawmakers before a proposed amendment to the state constitution

Photo: John Hanna, AP
Image 2 of 5
Kansas state Reps. from left, Jim Kelly, R-Independence; Tom Phillips, R-Manhattan, and Susan Concannon, R-Beloit, listen during a meeting of GOP lawmakers before a proposed amendment to the state constitution ... more

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas on Friday failed to get a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution on the ballot, stalling efforts to ensure that its Bill of Rights does not secure a right to an abortion.

Neither side expected Friday's vote in the Kansas House to be the last word on whether the measure ultimately is put to a vote in a statewide election, when a simple majority would change the state constitution. Abortion opponents are almost certain to try again, with lawmakers expected to be in session until early May.

The House vote was 80-43 on the measure, which is aimed at overturning a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year protecting abortion rights, after the Senate approved it last week. Supporters were four votes short of the two-thirds majority needed in the 125-member House, even after supporters kept the roll open for five hours to build pressure for yes votes.

Both sides lobbied hard and waged Twitter campaigns after the House gave the measure first-round approval Thursday, but with only 80 of the 84 votes needed for final passage. Abortion rights advocates had portrayed it as a step toward a ban on abortion.

“The way it is written is extremist,” Rep. Nancy Lusk, a Kansas City-area Democrat, said before Friday's vote. “It is cleverly written to kind of disguise, I think, what the real purpose is.”

The Kansas Supreme Court ruling came in a state where the Republican-controlled Legislature has had solid anti-abortion majorities for two decades and immediately sparked intense criticism of the court. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, elected in 2018, supports abortion rights, but lawmakers enacted a raft of new restrictions under Kelly's two GOP predecessors.

Supporters argued that they were preserving the Legislature's power to regulate abortion.

“It will keep our regulations in place that we have for the safety and health of mothers and the unborn,” said Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican.
.........................................

[riversedge]

4. Kansas Supreme Court ruling declared that the state's Bill of Rights grants a "natural right of pers

..........Last year's Kansas Supreme Court ruling declared that the state's Bill of Rights grants a “natural right of personal autonomy” that includes the right to “control one’s own body,” making access to abortion a “fundamental” right.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Thanks for the update, riversedge. Bless Kansas Democrats for stopping the thugs. 💖💖💖

[Judi Lynn]

5. So good to see her tweet. Best wishes to Sharice Davids, she's a superstar Freshman Congressperson.

Thank you, George II.