Nationwide Abortion Bans Threaten the Will of Kansas Voters

The Supreme Court’s decisions in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization stripped constitutional protections for abortion access, leaving the rights of millions of Americans up to state governments. In Kansas, a ballot measure to remove abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution was defeated when a historic and overwhelming majority of voters rejected the measure.

Dolores Hernandez pictured in August 2022 protesting at her church. (Photo credit: Dolores Hernandez)

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Dolores Hernandez was terrified of what the erasure of a fundamental right would entail. As a practicing Catholic, she had to reckon with the political stance that her church was pushing onto its parishioners and try to come to her own opinion on the matter. But when the state of Kansas put the issue on the ballot, Dolores knew she had to help the fight. She spoke to her friends and family to make sure everyone was registered and ready to vote, she posted about the election on social media, and she even protested outside her church the day before the election. On election night, she cried tears of joy and disbelief that the overwhelming majority of her fellow Kansans had voted to protect her fundamental rights. But her rejoicing was cut short when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced plans to introduce a bill to ban abortion nationwide, even in states that voted to protect it. Dolores knows the fight for reproductive freedom is never over, but the battle is at a critical juncture. She worries that conservative extremists will take power away from Kansas voters, and voters across the country, in passing a nationwide abortion ban.

With a bill to ban abortion nationwide already introduced in Congress, MAGA Republicans inch closer to stripping Americans of their fundamental right to bodily autonomy. The erasure of reproductive freedom will only worsen the physical and economic health of women and families across the country.