“We just started.” Kansas anti-abortion activists search for path forward after ballot defeat

Five months after Kansans overwhelmingly voted to preserve the state-level right to an abortion leaders in the anti-abortion movement stood on the steps of the Kansas State Capitol urging supporters to “stay the course.”

At the annual March for Life in Topeka Tuesday, anti-abortion activists applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer. But they’re still grappling with the new political reality after Kansas garnered international attention when the state voted by 19 points, a gargantuan margin in modern politics, to preserve a state-level right to abortion just weeks after the federal decision.

For decades the anti-abortion movement represented one of the most powerful lobbying interests in Topeka. But in the wake of a landslide defeat, the path forward for the movement is uncertain.

“It’ll be a cold day in you-know-what when we stop fighting to protect women and children, including unborn children. The battleground has just changed. And a good deal of it is across the street,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, referencing the Kansas Supreme Court.

Activists are still grasping for understanding of what happened in August and weighing the best options for new legislation. Brittany Jones, a lobbyist for Kansas Family Voice, said there is no unified answer.

“I think we all know that we want to see women protected and abortions decreased. And there’s a lot of different ideas of the best way to do that. And to some extent it might be a smorgasbord,” she said.

Should anti-abortion lawmakers seek continued restrictions on abortion in hopes the court will overturn the state-level right? Should the focus be more closely tied to discouraging abortions or providing assistance to pregnant women? What is the best approach?

“We’re clarifying our reason. For a long time Roe was an easy mission statement and that can’t be our mission statement anymore,” Jones said.

But despite evidence to the contrary Jones and many others in Kansas’ anti-abortion movement insist the landslide defeat was not the result of broad support of abortion access but rather voter confusion about the true issue at hand.

“You actually had a lot of people vote no on the amendment because it wasn’t an all-out ban,” Masterson said earlier this month, referencing a small handful of fringe activists who have protested in Topeka. “For people to read that as ‘hey, Kansas is no longer pro-life’ I think that’s a mistake.”

Jeanne Gawdun, a lobbyist for Kansans for Life, pointed to a national poll paid for the Knights of Columbus as evidence that restrictions on abortion are broadly supported, even though that same survey found a majority of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice.”

“We know the public is with us,” Gawdun said. “We’re not gonna abandon moms, we’re not gonna abandon babies.”

But no state-level polls have been done on abortion since the August vote, which overwhelmingly rejected Kansans for Life’s message that all of Kansas’ current restrictions on abortion were at risk without the amendment. Voters opted to leave the subject of abortion in the hands of the court, and leave the door to new restrictions or a ban closed.

“Anytime I hear things like that I think, ‘I have been gaslighted like that since college,’” Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat, said in reference to anti-abortion groups’ insistence Kansans want more restrictions.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said this messaging is all but certain to translate to legislation in the near future.

“I think that it’s still going to be a strong push but Kansans spoke very loudly and I don’t think they were confused,” Sykes said. “They’re trying to take us back or keep it where they can manage or manipulate people instead of letting Kansans have a voice.”

Legislative response

Speaking to the crowd of anti-abortion activists, including numerous groups of schoolchildren, Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, both declared that the Legislature was far from done on the abortion issue.

“We haven’t stopped, we just started. And we will continue the fight,” Hawkins said.

Masterson said he wants the court to determine when an unborn child gains the same bodily autonomy afforded to a pregnant woman. In an interview earlier this month he said such a ruling could come through existing litigation or litigation on future legislation passed on abortion.

While abortion rights remain enshrined in the constitution lawmakers and activists have floated a variety of ways to continue to push the issue.

Sen. Chase Blasi, a freshman Republican from Wichita, introduced a bill allowing local governments to regulate the procedure. Simultaneously, he said he’s working on a bill to make adoption more affordable.

“Ultimately I believe it’s time to put our money where our mouth is as pro-lifers,” he said.

Discussion at the Topeka rally focused largely on the subject of changing hearts and minds. Two speakers worked for crisis pregnancy centers, anti-abortion centers focused on helping new and expecting mothers while discouraging abortion. Such centers are often criticized for deceiving patients into believing they provide abortions.

On Monday, the House Taxation Committee introduced a bill that would provide a 70% tax credit for donations made to pregnancy centers.

Gawdun, the lobbyist for Kansans for Life, said the tax credits are a priority this session alongside legislation to protect fetuses that survive an abortion.

“It’s a tremendous investment for Kansans to support these organizations that are empowering women, helping them to be able to choose life,” she said.

The push within the anti-abortion movement to help expecting mothers has prompted criticism from abortion rights supporters for Kansans for Life’s historic opposition to policies like Medicaid expansion.

“Instead of going back to their old deceptive tactics, we encourage anti-abortion politicians to courageously support policies that support mothers before and after they give birth, as well as programs that make sure babies are fed, clothes, and educated after they are born - no matter who they are or where they live,” said Ashley All, a former spokesperson for “vote no” group, Kansans for Constitutional Freedom.

Some anti-abortion activists are pushing for more. Many at the Tuesday march held signs calling for an end to abortion.

Protesters with signs urging the total ban of abortion have been a weekly presence at the Kansas Statehouse since lawmakers returned.

Kevan Myers, a self-described abortion abolitionist, attended the March for Life to tell attendees the “pro-life” movement wasn’t going far enough. He said he had been against the August amendment because it allowed regulation of abortion - which he said should be criminalized rather than treated as healthcare.

“The Kansas Supreme Court does not have the right to say abortion is OK,” said Myers, who is part of the fringe group Abortion is Murder.

Significant new restrictions are not likely in the immediate term.

Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, says she doesn’t see a point in pursuing legislation certain to land in court as existing restrictions on abortion, such as a ban on telemedicine abortion are being struck down in court.

“We’re already losing regulations and the courts are finding that the regulations we have in place are unconstitutional,” Humphries said. “It’s hard to think putting more in place would be found to be constitutional.”

Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said the organization does not currently plan to challenge any existing abortion restrictions, like parental consent for minors or the current ban on abortions, after the 22nd week of pregnancy.

Though the organization has the law and public on their side, Wales said they were prepared for fights down the road.

“It certainly helps us breathe easier knowing that the law’s on our side and the people of Kansas are on our side,” Wales said. “Kansans identified that they weren’t getting what felt like the full story from one side of that fight.”

“We’re gonna go into this legislative session with the exact same approach. Tell people what’s going on. Highlight where the Legislature is trying to subvert the will of the people of Kansas.”