Kansas needs Amanda Adkins to say where she stands on women’s basic personal freedoms

Welcome to post-Roe America, Kansas. We are soon to become the first state to vote on reproductive rights without the protection of Roe v. Wade stopping politicians from interfering with our medical decisions. This has been a personal journey for me, and now more than ever, I believe Kansans need to know where our candidates stand on our freedoms.

I didn’t always understand the significance of reproductive freedom. I grew up in a staunchly pro-life, Catholic family, and I held those ideals strongly throughout college. I maintained pro-life views until my mid-20s, when I faced my hardest life test to date: an out-of-wedlock, unplanned pregnancy.

I was head-to-head with the very thing my teachings were firmly against — a choice. So, I did what any person does when they find out they’re pregnant: I weighed my options, analyzed my life plan and considered whether I could raise a child while providing it with the best life and opportunities possible. Ultimately, I chose to move forward with the pregnancy, because I had a stable job, good health care, supportive family and a reliable partner.

Just as I grew accustomed to the idea of becoming a mom, my life got thrown off course once again when my pregnancy ultimately ended in a miscarriage. From my miscarriage (and then a D&C procedure — a surgery often conducted after miscarriages and abortions to remove tissue from the uterus), I realized that my previous ideas about pregnancy were one-sided. While the circumstances of my own pregnancy were not ideal, it wasn’t until my personal experience that I realized the immense privilege I had with maternity health care, paid time off, steady income and an incredible support system.

Not all are so privileged, and many have to make a different decision because of an abundance of personal, financial and logistical reasons. What if a woman is faced with a pregnancy and has an abusive partner? What if a woman is faced with a pregnancy and has health issues? What if a woman is faced with a pregnancy and doesn’t have a stable income? These are critical factors that every individual weighs when she makes her choice to continue a pregnancy or not.

But now, the highest court in our country stripped us of the constitutional right to choose, and in our own state there’s a constitutional amendment that seeks to let the Legislature follow suit. With the stakes higher than ever, Kansans have the right to know if our representatives and candidates will stand up for our rights and keep politicians from mandating the choice that I outlined above.

Thankfully, we currently have U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids fighting in the best interests of those in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, and has made her commitment to protecting our freedoms clear.

However, there’s another candidate on the ballot whose position is far more extreme.

Amanda Adkins is once again running to represent our district, and despite the reversal of Roe v. Wade, she has dodged questions in attempts to shield her extreme views.

Just like her former boss, ex-Gov. Sam Brownback, Adkins opposes Roe v. Wade. This radical plan embodies the extreme extent of her pro-mandate beliefs, and shows she supports government bans over personal freedoms. Her party has repeatedly introduced radical criminalization of abortion, such as a bill proposed just this year with no exceptions for rape or incest, beginning at fertilization.

She also backed plans to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides affordable health care to tens of thousands of Kansans every year. Their services include general health exams, pregnancy services and postnatal care, all of which I needed from my health provider before, during and after my pregnancy and miscarriage. The plans she supports would directly harm Kansans who rely on these essential health care services.

Amanda Adkins’ stances are with the minority of our county and state — and certainly don’t represent those here in the Kansas 3rd, which is why she’s been silent on her agenda if elected in a post-Roe America.

We have the right to know where our representatives stand. It’s the bare minimum that candidates can do for their prospective constituents. For all the women faced with the same decision I had to make and for those who make much harder ones, we need to know we can rely on our representatives to stand up where the court would not.

Angela Schweller is a precinct captain and state delegate for the Kansas Democratic Party.