Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In 'Landslide' Vote, Kansas Preserves Right To Abortion
Kansas City Star: Kansas Rejects Abortion Amendment: 2022 Election Vote Results
The right to an abortion will remain in the Kansas Constitution. In the first ballot test of abortion rights in a post-Roe America, Kansas voters turned out in historic numbers to overwhelmingly reject a constitutional amendment that would have opened the door for state lawmakers to further restrict or ban abortions across the state. (Bernard and Gutierrez, 8/3)
The Washington Post: Kansans Resoundingly Reject Amendment Aimed At Restricting Abortion Rights
In a major victory for abortion rights, Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected an effort to strip away their state’s abortion protections, sending a decisive message about the issue’s popularity in the first political test since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. (Gowen and Itkowitz, 8/3)
Politico: Kansas Voters Block Effort To Ban Abortion In State Constitutional Amendment Vote
Turnout for the primary also soared above usual levels Tuesday, and in some counties was closer to the participation usually seen in a presidential election. The in-person early vote, which tends to favor Democrats, was also nearly 250 percent higher than the last primary midterm election in 2018, when both Democrats and Republicans had competitive governors’ races, while the number of mail-in ballots was more than double. (Ollstein, 8/2)
AP: Kansas Voters Resoundingly Protect Their Access To Abortion
The proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution would have added language stating that it does not grant the right to abortion. A 2019 state Supreme Court decision declared that access to abortion is a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights, preventing a ban and potentially thwarting legislative efforts to enact new restrictions. (Hanna and Stafford, 8/3)
President Biden cheers the results in Kansas —
The Hill: Biden Praises Kansas Vote To Protect Abortion Rights
President Biden on Tuesday hailed a vote in Kansas rejecting a state constitutional amendment that would have eliminated abortion protections and given the state legislature more power to regulate access to the procedure. ... "This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions,” Biden said. (Vakil, 8/3)
The Washington Post: Misleading Kansas Abortion Texts Linked To Republican-Aligned Firm
The text messages arrived on Monday, the day before Kansans were set to vote on an amendment that would excise abortion protections from their state constitution. The text claimed that approving that measure, which could allow the Republican-controlled legislature to outlaw abortion, would safeguard “choice.” If the amendment fails, constitutional protections would remain in place, buttressing current law that allows abortion in the first 22 weeks of pregnancy. (Stanley-Becker, 8/2)
Newsweek: Is Abortion Banned In Kansas? What Referendum Vote Means
In Kansas, abortion is allowed up to 20 weeks after fertilization—about the middle of the second trimester. After that, it is allowed only to save the patient's life or prevent "a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function." (Fung, 8/2)
In related election news —
Politico: Roe Jolts The Midterms — 5 Takeaways From A Key Primary Night
It would have been a victory for Democrats and abortion rights activists if they’d even kept it close in Kansas. Instead, as the heavily Republican state rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, it marked a political earthquake with the potential to reshape the entire midterm campaign. (Siders, Wren and Montellaro, 8/3)
KHN: Two-Thirds Of Americans Disapprove Of Ending ‘Roe,’ But It’s Not A Top Voting Issue
Barely a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade’s federal guarantee of access to abortion, two-thirds of Americans said they disapprove of the court’s decision and 6 in 10 said they want their states to make abortion legal, a new poll finds. Yet despite that interest, abortion is not top of mind for many voters, the poll released Aug. 2 by KFF found. Three-quarters of registered voters said inflation and gas prices were their top concerns when considering decisions in the upcoming midterm elections. Abortion access was a key priority for 55% of voters, about the same as health care costs and gun violence. That was up from the 46% recorded by a KFF poll in February, after the Supreme Court had heard arguments in the case. (Verdon, 8/2)
