The following are paid political letters.
Vote ‘yes’
on Value them Both Amendment
Please vote “YES” on the Value Them Both (VTB) amendment. The amendment is needed due to a Kansas Supreme court ruling in 2019 that stated abortion is a fundamental right under the Kansas Constitution. Being a fundamental right means current Kansas laws regarding abortion are no longer presumed to be constitutional
due to a strict scrutiny standard the court applies when a fundamental right is implicated. The original case was brought against the 2015 Kansas Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act.
The NY Times called the ruling “a sweeping ruling that opens the door for abortion activists to challenge a series of other restrictions.” The Center for Reproductive Rights attorney that represented the plaintiffs in the 2019 ruling said, “the ruling would make it difficult for other laws limiting abortion access to hold up in Kansas courts.” Elizabeth Nash, an abortion legislation expert at the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that
supports abortion rights stated, “nearly all of the abortion restrictions in the state, they could be challenged and struck down, with this ruling.”
The 2019 ruling was the basis for the striking down of the Abortion Facility Sanitation and Safety law in December 2021. This was a Kansas law regarding abortion clinic health and safety standards and inspections.
There is little doubt that Kansas law limiting abortion to within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy will be struck down and open the door to partial birth abortions and abortion up until birth. Requirements for informational counseling, an ultrasound, and 24-hour waiting period are sure to go as will the restriction on the use of telemedicine.
The VTB amendment will make sure taxpayer’s money is not used to fund abortions. Assuredly if VTB is not passed a challenge will be made that if Kansas funds other medical procedures, how can Kansas deny taxpayer funding of a procedure that is a fundamental right. What compelling state interest can stand up to the strict
scrutiny test for such a ban? Any such restriction is presumed to be unconstitutional. What constitutional reasoning can the state make given the court’s ruling? The same court that found this fundamental right in the Kansas Constitution, even though the word abortion never appears in the state’s constitution, will be the entity deciding this question.
The abortion industry has spent $4 million plus so far against VTB. Much of their information is pure falsehoods.
Here are some clarifications. Kansas has very clear legal definitions of abortion — K.S.A. 65-6701(a). The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion. The treatment of a miscarriage is not an abortion. The treatment for a septic uterus is not an abortion. VTB has nothing to do with birth control, IVF or fertility treatments.
If VTB does not pass, the abortion industry is poised to use this fundamental right ruling to turn Kansas into the abortion capital of the Midwest. Any and all procedures, regardless of the stage of pregnancy, will be allowed.
There will be little to no oversight or regulation but there will be state funding. Passing VTB returns Kansas to what existed regarding abortion law in 2019. VTB does not ban abortion. VTB gives you (the people), through your representatives, the power to decide, just like you had in 2019. Please vote “YES”!
John Matta
1213 Greystone Place
Support safe, legal access to abortion
by voting ‘no’
On Aug. 2, Kansas voters will decide whether or not to keep abortion legal in our state. The so-called “Value Them Both” amendment would change the Kansas Constitution to no longer guarantee the right to an abortion.
As mother, I cannot support this amendment. Because I support safe and legal access to abortion, I am voting NO.
Kansas has long stood for freedom. As Abolitionists, we supported the end of slavery. As believers in education, we founded schools and colleges. As farmers and ranchers, we feed the nation and the world. We support our troops. On August 2, we have to decide how to best support our hard-working women and men.
Let’s keep our state a place of dignity. Vote NO on August 2.
Krista Danielson
3404 Lombard Drive
