WASHINGTON — Kansas Republicans introduced extreme legislation to ban abortions across the board this week, flying in the face of Kansans who voted resoundingly to keep abortion legal in the state. Most significantly, the bill would forbid access to clinical abortions, ban the distribution of abortion pills, and allow lawsuits against those who aided abortion access.
Kansas made history in 2022 as the first state post-Dobbs to vote on abortion rights, delivering a clear mandate that reproductive freedom must be preserved. Voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have denied the right to abortion in the state. Despite this mandate from voters, Republicans have repeatedly attempted to pass legislation to undermine and criminalize abortions.
A reminder: Republicans have supermajorities in the House and Senate in Kansas, which are both on the ballot in 2024.
This bill is the latest in a string of dangerous proposals from Republicans across the country who are hellbent on banning abortion access in 2024. In the last month, New Hampshire Republicans proposed a 15-day abortion ban, Florida Republicans introduced a ban that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Missouri Republicans proposed allowing homicide charges for people who have abortions, and just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an extreme abortion ban to go into effect in Idaho.
Republicans will stop at nothing in their crusade against reproductive freedom. Electing Democrats to the state legislature is the only defense for preserving abortion access.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Communications Director Abhi Rahman issued the following statement:
“Kansas voters made it crystal clear in 2022 that they want abortion rights protections to stay, and Kansas Republican legislators are flying directly in the face of the will of Kansans. This dangerous proposal is insulting to the Kansas voters who showed up in 2022 to affirm their support for the protection of fundamental freedoms and once again shows the importance of winning state legislatures, where most legislation that affects your day-to-day life gets done.
“The DLCC is focused on building Democratic power in Kansas to protect fundamental freedoms in the state. Breaking the Republican supermajorities is crucial to protecting Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto power and the reason why Kansas remains on our 2024 target map. To protect fundamental freedoms, Kansas needs to elect Democratic legislators. The DLCC will be partners with allies on the ground every step of the way to make that a reality.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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