By Donald A. Collins | 4 August 2022
Church and State
In what could be a harbinger for fixing the killing of Roe on June 24th, Kansas women made clear their support for their existing state’s abortion law in a pre-midterm election despite the confusing Republican written ballot statement which made some people think a yes vote kept the choice law.
Read about the Kansas victory story here.
Tonight Kansas showed the entire nation what we already knew — we will not turn back the clock. https://t.co/1vq9hYH0zH
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 3, 2022
The existing Kansas abortion law is far from perfect as you can read here, but its enshrinement by women voters sends a strong national message to everyone about choice.
Here is the abortion law in Kansas, now preserved by the 8/2/22 vote as long as the state constitution is not amended.
This is a huge victory in KS. But as I read it, this vote didn't turn KS into a blue state re: abortion access. There are still quite legal, onerous restrictions.
To the extent voters knew that going into the booth, that may color how you read the results. https://t.co/IdGxlhSzq5— Kenneth Baer (@KennethBaer) August 3, 2022
As you can read, there are restrictions. Abortions allowed, after a 24-hour waiting period, up to 21 weeks and prohibits abortions without parental approval for minors, limited government funding. So far from as good as Roe.
The Gallop polling data on voter abortion attitudes clearly shows the antediluvian GOP position now ensconced in the Supreme Court whose majority will continue to try to take Americans back to Jim Crow days or to where they can steal state voting power in GOP controlled legislatures.
Read the demographic facts favoring choice if only voter vote.
A few facts from these Gallop national polling numbers:
US Adults are 55 percent Pro Choice vs 39 percent Pro Life
48% of men are pro-choice vs 71 percent of women pro choice
People of all ethnic categories are well over 50% prochoice
Women up to 49 years old are 60% prochoice vs 34% prolife
Women over 50 are 45% prochoice vs 47% prolife
The higher the income and education to wider % of those favoring prochoice
More Republicans are Prolife vs more Democrats are Prochoice
Tragically, more under-educated white “conservative” men identify as pro-life.
It has always been about control. https://t.co/6nI8L6Y2Nn
— TPBlue💔 (@TPBlue4) June 25, 2022
Bottom line: Abortion choice is on the line and prochoice advocates have a way to win but only if they VOTE! In Kansas women went door to door and in every way made voters aware of the intentionally confusing wording of the ballot language.
As one letter’s headline to the Letters to the Editor in the August 3, 2022, Washington Post says, “He who votes wins” and in his letter defending Roe makes the obvious point that “if those who want to protect their liberties sit out elections, those who want to take away liberties’ prevail.”
The Gallop polling data about abortion conclusively shows that the majority of Americans are widely prochoice, so if we fail to win the abortion battle in the midterms, we prochoice supporters will only have ourselves to blame.
It’s up to us!!
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC, has spent over 50 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of “From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”, “Trump Becoming Macbeth: Will our democracy survive?”, “We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”, “What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”, “Vote” and “Can Homo Sapiens Survive?”.“What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”: https://t.co/fHuh0CG6JD
“We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”: https://t.co/TA4j7cp1tE
“From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”: https://t.co/lkC2t3E1A9 pic.twitter.com/bQsL2mLBcO— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 1, 2021
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