Kansans go to the polls next week to vote in the first of several state-level referendums on abortion rights, marking the first test of public opinion on the topic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. 

Supporters of the amendment to the state constitution argue that it would allow the state to impose common-sense restrictions on abortions; opponents fear the amendment would open to door to bans effectively criminalizing the procedure. 

With Kansas relatively evenly split on the issue, the measure’s fate is unclear. What is certain, however, is that Kansas’s referendum is the first of many to come.

It will be the first of five such state referendums on abortion rights scheduled for this year, and — because it’s the only one scheduled during a primary election — the earliest of the lot.

Residents in California and Vermont will vote on amendments to guarantee an individual’s right to “reproductive freedom” and “reproductive autonomy,” respectively, on Election Day in November.

The same day, Montana will vote on an abortion-related provision, and Kentucky will vote on a constitutional amendment specifying that its state constitution does not protect the right to an abortion.

Colorado and Michigan have also proposed abortion-related ballot initiatives for the 2022 election, though they have not yet been approved to appear before voters in November. At least seven other states are considering measures that would be passed by popular referendum in the near future.

The amendment being put to voters in Kansas would specify, among other provisions, that “the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.”

If adopted, the amendment would reverse a 2019 decision by the state supreme court that ruled “the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects all Kansans’ natural right of personal autonomy.” That includes “the right to control one’s own body, to assert bodily integrity, and to exercise self-determination,” and the right of women to decide “whether to continue a pregnancy.”

Proponents of the amendment include both the state GOP and a special interest group, Value Them Both, that gave the so-called Value Them Both Amendment its unofficial name. 

Value Them Both argues that its campaign is against “an unregulated abortion industry with no limits at all” and that the text of the amendment would simply allow lawmakers to regulate abortions.

Although members of the Kansas GOP have argued that the vote is not about banning abortion, they have already proposed legislation that would make peforming an abortion a felony in the event the amendment passes.

An organization that seeks to protect the right to an abortion, Kansas for Constitutional Freedom, says the bill is evidence that the amendment is part of an effort to “mandate government control of our private medical decisions and pave the way for a total ban on abortion.”

The group also believes that the amendment’s supporters deliberately chose to place it on a primary ballot in order to suppress the votes of abortion rights supporters.

“This amendment was put on our primary election ballot in hopes that fewer Kansans would vote,” a spokeswoman for the organization, Ashley All, tells the Sun. “We are working very hard with a broad and diverse coalition of Kansans to stop this amendment.”

Opponents of the amendment also dispute the notion that the amendment is aimed at regulating “an unregulated abortion industry with no limits at all.”

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Kansas already regulates abortions. Current state law bans abortions after 20 weeks unless the mother’s life is in danger, and requires that patients receive state-directed counseling before receiving an abortion.

The Kansas Democratic Party is opposed to the amendment and believes its timing gives Kansas voters a “unique opportunity to lead our nation in protecting personal health care decisions.”

“The Kansas Democratic Party is working with coalition groups to defeat this amendment on August 2,” the Kansas Democratic Party chairwoman, Vicki Hiatt, tells the Sun. “We realize the outcome will be close and our job is to turn out the voters who will vote NO to support reproductive freedom and the Kansas constitution.”

Neither the Kansas GOP nor the Value Them Both organization responded to a request for comment.

As of yet, it’s unclear whether the amendment will pass. Recent polls suggest that Kansas voters are evenly divided on the issue. One poll found that 49 percent of Kansans supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade and 46 percent opposed the ruling. On the amendment, 47 percent said they supported it, 43 percent opposed it, and 10 percent were undecided.