Voters in Kansas have rejected attempts to remove abortion protections from the state’s constitution in the first statewide vote on the issue since the US Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v Wade.
The vote has been hailed a “titanic result for Kansas politics” and has won support from US president Joe Biden. It will prevent Kansas’ Republican-led legislature from passing severe abortion restrictions in the state, which carries out abortions for a number of patients outside of the state.
"This should be a real wake-up call for abortion opponents," said Neal Allen, a political science professor at Wichita State University.
"When a total ban looks like a possibility, then you’re going to get a lot of people to turn out and you’re going to lose a lot of the more moderate supporters of abortion restrictions."
Political analysts had expected the Kansas amendment to pass, given that Republicans typically turn out in greater numbers for the state’s primary elections than Democrats and independents.
But Tuesday’s vote drew higher-than-expected turnout.
With 98 per cent of the vote counted, 59 per cent of voters favored preserving abortion rights compared to nearly 41 per cent who supported removing abortion protections from the state constitution, according to Edison Research.
"This is a titanic result for Kansas politics," said Mr Allen.
Kansas’ ballot initiative is the first of several that will ask US voters to weigh in on abortion rights this year.
Kentucky, California, Vermont and possibly Michigan will have abortion on the ballot in Autumn.
The successful "vote no" campaign in Kansas could offer a blueprint to abortion rights groups looking to harness voter energy in the wake of Roe’s reversal, Mr Allen said.
Mr Biden joined Democrats across the country in applauding the results on Tuesday.
"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," he said in a statement.
Kansas Republicans had been pushing for a state constitutional amendment to eliminate abortion rights since 2019, when the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the state constitution protected the right to abortion.
As a result of the ruling, Kansas has maintained more lenient policies than other conservative neighbours. The state allows abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy with several restrictions, including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and mandatory parental consent for minors.
Patients travel to Kansas for abortions from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states that have banned the procedure almost entirely since the Supreme Court in June overturned Roe, the 1973 decision that legalised abortion nationwide.
