Proposal to reverse Kansas abortion rights ruling advances

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers on Wednesday pushed a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution past its first hurdle in the GOP-controlled Legislature.

The House Federal and State Affairs Committee endorsed a measure that would overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state constitution. The amendment would declare that the Kansas Constitution does not “secure” a right to abortion and allow legislators to regulate it as far as federal court decisions allow.

The committee's 15-6 vote sends the measure to the full House for debate, possibly later this week. Republican leaders have made putting the proposed amendment on the August primary ballot a top priority.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also could take up its own version later Wednesday.

Both chambers must approve the measure with two-thirds majority for it to go on the ballot. A simple majority of voters would have to approve it at the polls.

Supporters of the proposed amendment argue that it would allow voters to preserve the Legislature's long-standing power to regulate abortion and protect a raft of restrictions approved over the past decade. Critics see it as a step toward an eventual attempt to ban abortion.

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