After the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in the US, many conservative states have tightened the laws. In Kansas, voters are now voting for abortion rights, dealing a major blow to Republicans. At the same time, the US government is suing Idaho over a new law.
In the US state of Kansas, voters voted to preserve abortion rights. According to the US media, voters in a nationwide referendum in the traditionally conservative state on Tuesday rejected the idea of removing the right to abortions from the state constitution with a clear majority. Otherwise, abortions in Kansas could have been severely restricted or banned altogether.
The referendum in the Midwestern state was the first vote on the issue since the US Supreme Court overturned the nation’s basic right to abortion on June 24.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, the Republican-dominated Kansas legislature introduced an amendment called “Value Them Both.” The aim was to abolish the right to abortion enshrined in the state constitution – with the aim of leaving regulation to the legislature again.
Kansas: Plans for total abortion ban
Abortion rights advocates saw the campaign as an attempt to pave the way for a total ban. A Conservative MP has already introduced a bill that would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or danger to the mother’s life. Currently, the state guarantees access to abortion up to the 22nd week. The state Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in 2019.
The vote is also seen as a test case for abortion rights in the US as a whole. Numerous Republican-dominated states have passed or are paving the way for strict abortion bans following the decision of the Supreme Court in Washington.
In other states like California and Kentucky, citizens will vote on the issue in November, coinciding with the midterm congressional elections. Both Republicans and Democrats hope to mobilize their supporters with the issue.
Lawsuit against Idaho’s abortion ban
On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 landmark “Roe v. Wade” ruling that enshrined a nationwide fundamental right to abortion. The decision caused a political earthquake and is considered a historical turning point. Because there is no federal law on abortion, states can now largely or completely ban abortion.
A far-reaching ban on abortion is soon to come into force in the state of Idaho. The US government sued the state Tuesday because Idaho plans to ban abortions in almost all cases, including medical emergencies for pregnant women. The regulation, which should come into force there at the end of August, only provides for an exception for cases in which a woman’s life is in danger, but not for cases in which an abortion is necessary to seriously endanger a woman’s health to prevent.
According to the US Department of Justice, this violates federal law. Because all hospitals that receive certain government funds are required to provide patients in the emergency room with the necessary “stabilizing treatment” to save their lives or prevent serious damage to their health. And under certain circumstances, a termination of pregnancy is absolutely necessary as such “stabilizing treatment”.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Tuesday that this violates a federal law that allows abortion if it is a “necessary stabilizing measure in a medical emergency.” “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure pregnant women receive the emergency medical treatment to which federal law provides them.”
Source: Stern
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