Wichita, Kan., Feb 7, 2020 / 16:33 pm
An effort to place a referendum on the Kansas ballot clarifying that abortion is not a constitutional right fell four votes short of the support needed in the House of Representatives on Friday.
If it had been approved, the proposed referendum would have asked voters throughout the state in August if they wanted to amend the constitution to explicitly state that abortion is not a right and the court cannot interpret the constitution to say it is.
The Senate approved the measure 28-12 last week. However, the House vote on Friday was 80-43, four votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed for approval, the AP reported.
Opponents of the referendum denounced it as an effort to limit abortion. Its supporters, however, said it was a matter of protecting regulations, like parental notification for minors and a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion, both of which may be threatened by a 2019 ruling of the state's Supreme Court.