Next year, Kansas voters will have their say on what they want in the state Constitution on abortion.
House Concurrent Resolution 5003, also known as the Value Them Both amendment, passed the Senate by a 28-11 vote Thursday. It passed the House on an 86-33 vote last week.
17th District Senator Jeff Longbine of Emporia voted in favor. He says the amendment, if passed by residents, would reset the state’s abortion laws to where they were before the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision calling abortion a fundamental right in Kansas.
Longbine says has voted in favor of pro-life issues through his legislative career, and he says those who contacted him about the amendment were overwhelmingly in favor of it.
9 pm Thursday: Value Them Both amendment passes Senate, to go on August 2022 primary ballot
The Kansas Senate has passed a bill that could rewrite the state Constitution on abortion matters.
House Concurrent Resolution 5003, also known as the Value Them Both amendment, passed by a 28-11 vote Thursday. Republicans have wanted to pass this bill since the Kansas Supreme Court ruled abortion was a fundamental right for women in Kansas two years ago, saying the high court decision undermined abortion clinic protections like sanitation standards, parental consent, informed consent and bans on late-term abortions.
Passage in the Senate follows an 86-33 vote of approval in the House last week. This means Kansas residents will have the final say next year as the measure will be part of the August 2022 ballot.
17th District Senator Jeff Longbine voted in favor of the bill. All four lawmakers representing Lyon County — Longbine in the Senate, 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia, 51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego and 76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington — approved the measure.
Longbine will discuss his decision with KVOE News on Friday.
