The following are paid political letters.
Get the facts before
voting August 2
There is so much misinformation going around about the state constitutional amendment on the ballot August 2. Let’s clear a few things up.
Currently, the Kansas constitution guarantees a woman’s right to control her own body, including choosing abortion. However, the state currently has several abortion restrictions in place: Abortion is banned at 22 weeks and later. Patients must wait 24 hours after counseling (not required to be in-person) to obtain an abortion. State Medicaid coverage of abortion care is banned except in very limited circumstances. Private health insurance of abortion is banned except in very limited circumstances. Medication abortion must be provided in person because state bans the use of telehealth or mailing pills or requires in-person visit. Parental consent or notice is required for a minor’s abortion. Only physicians can provide abortions and not other qualified health care professionals.
Voting no on August 2 would keep things exactly as they currently are in Kansas. There would be no change to the constitution or to the current laws regulating abortion.
However, if the “vote yes” side wins, that will change the constitution by removing the right for women to control their own bodies and receive abortions. It doesn’t immediately ban abortions, but it allows the Kansas legislature to ban abortions in all instances, including rape, incest and the health of the mother.
State legislative Republicans already have a bill to ban all access to abortions ready to go. It’s House Bill 2746. You can look it up yourself at www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/bills/house/.
This bill would outlaw all abortions at the moment of fertilization. It would also outlaw the destruction of a fertilized embryo, which impacts people using fertility treatment, specifically IVF, to get pregnant. It would be a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion, and it would be a felony for a fertility treatment center to dispose of unused fertilized eggs.
So basically it boils down to this: If you want things to stay as they are, with women having access to full health care and bodily autonomy, but with strict regulations on abortion, then vote NO. If you want to have the government control women’s bodies, forcing them to give birth even when it could be dangerous or harmful to them, then vote yes.
Marisa Larson
2203 Alta Drive
Amendment would affirm what founders intended
Here’s an exact quote of a message I recently received on my phone: “Hi Norbert! Kansas women, children, and our state constitution are under attack. Can we count on you to VOTE NO on Aug. 2 to PRESERVE our constitution and PROTECT women and children?”
It is filled with lies. The Value Them Both Amendment does not attack our state constitution, it clarifies/affirms what our founders intended. A no vote does not preserve our constitution or protect women and children as the message asserts. In fact it harms women. Often not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. It doesn’t protect children; it always kills a helpless, growing, innocent child, regardless of that boy or girl’s stage of development.
Our Supreme Court has clearly and comprehensively determined that the Roe and Casey court cases were wrongly decided, and abortion legislation should be decided at the state level.
As the U.S. and Kansas constitutions obviously declare, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Nowhere in either document is there even a vague hint of a right to abortion. Before Roe, most states had laws that criminalized abortion.
Vote YES! Value Them Both!
Norbert Hermes
Salina
Kansas stands
for freedom; vote ‘no’ on amendment
On August 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.
Sincerely,
Krista Danielson
3404 Lombard Drive
What a ‘yes’ vote for Value them Both Amendment would mean
With Roe vs. Wade overturned, the states will govern policies concerning abortion. What will this mean for Kansas? The primary election on the Value Them Both Amendment will result in one of two situations:
Amendment passage by a majority voting YES will mean the laws concerning abortion will be in the hands of your legislative representatives, not the Kansas Supreme Court. This protects existing laws, including common-sense oversight of abortion. The amendment assures Kansans that the abortion laws passed prior to the 2019 court ruling will be enforced and allow new legislation to be considered.
Opponents of Value Them Both claim it would put mothers at risk by denying care during ectopic pregnancies, miscarriage, or fetal demise. This is not true. Nothing in the amendment, in the values we share, or in current statutes would prevent a doctor from taking those measures necessary to save lives. For more on this, see Attorney General Opinion No. 2022-7 issued on July 22, 2022.
Amendment failure by a majority voting NO will mean all laws on abortion passed since 1992 are in jeopardy. This lack of laws governing abortion will result in Kansas becoming a destination for abortions, with some projecting abortions to increase by over 1000%. Abortions could become funded by taxpayers. Unregulated dirty and dangerous abortion clinics could return, leaving no protections for mothers. It would not be possible to ban partial birth abortion (i.e., live dismemberment abortion).
The Supreme Court’s ruling in 2019 overturned SB95 (live dismemberment abortion bill) and created a mandate that the Kansas Constitution provides the right to obtain an abortion. And yet, words concerning abortion do not exist in our Kansas Constitution. The legislature did the only thing it could do to stop the court from legislating from the bench by bringing the Value Them Both Amendment before the voters.
We believe every life is precious, each a unique creation by God. The amendment gives the most vulnerable among us a voice. The Kansas Supreme Court has exceeded its constitutional authority and misjudged the values of most Kansans. Please join us in voting YES for the passage of the Value Them Both Amendment.
Dr. Ron and Linda Highland and Col. (Ret.) Jim and Debbie MacGregor
Members of Flint Hills Lutherans For Life
Protect women
in Kansas and vote ‘no’
Before you vote, please consider.
These people who represent you have taken it upon themselves to decide what is best for the women of our country. Even Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D., who once promised to do no harm.
It is easy to vote on what other people can and can’t do.
It seems to be much more difficult to consider what is best for the people you represent.
NOT one of our representatives in the United States Congress has voted to provide for these unwanted babies they profess to care about
NO medical help
NO nutritional help
NO childcare help
NO help for all who wish to vote, either.
We need to keep the protection we already have in our Kansas constitution.
We voters need to protect the women in our state. We need to see that the children who already live in Kansas have enough to eat and a safe place to sleep at night.
Please vote NO to changing our constitution and YES to taking care of our children already here.
Ellie Lamb
3014 Sunnyside Drive
