The initial vote didn’t gain enough support. Five hours later, a subsequent vote also failed.
Twice on Friday, House Republicans got majority votes as they tried to pass a constitutional amendment on abortion, but neither effort gained the two-thirds majority needed to put the measure on the 2020 ballot — despite a lengthy “Call of the House” that essentially held the vote open as both sides of the issue lobbied hard for the end result. The measure, officially known as House Concurrent Resolution 5019 but also called the “Value Them Both” amendment, had 78 yes votes during the initial round, six shy of the 84 needed for a two-thirds majority. The second vote had 80 lawmakers in favor.
The Kansas Senate voted in favor last week and had enough votes to put the amendment on the ballot, depending on the House vote. Now the effort has to wait until the 2021 legislative session.
No House Democrats supported the amendment. Four Republicans sided with Democrats. 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber, 51st District Representative Ron Highland and 76th District Representative Eric Smith all voted for the amendment.
Republicans were hoping to reverse a Kansas Supreme Court ruling from last year that said abortion was a “fundamental” constitutional right. Abortion rights advocates said the bill could have set the stage for an outright ban on abortions if the US Supreme Court ever overturns the 1973 Roe v Wade decision.
