Kansas spoke loudly on abortion rights a year ago. Most politicians still don’t listen | Opinion

As temperatures reached triple digits last summer, volunteers went door to door courageously sharing personal stories and imploring their neighbors to vote no on the Aug. 2 ballot question that would have eliminated Kansans’ constitutional right to reproductive freedom. With sweat dripping down our faces, we hoped beyond hope that our state was on the brink of something historic. As an elected leader, active volunteer and young woman, I felt the weight of the vote like lead in my belly.

Like so many Kansans, I dedicated my summer to canvassing and volunteering to protect our constitutional right to abortion. We worked with a broad and diverse coalition of advocates to maintain our freedom to make our own private medical decisions in consultation with our doctors, not politicians. We knew that our rights were on the line, and we understood the devastating health crisis that an extreme abortion ban would have on our state’s residents and their families.

One year ago, on Aug. 2, 2022, Kansas became the first state in the nation to vote to affirm the fundamental right to bodily autonomy after the fall of Roe v.. Wade, and the first to protect the constitutional right to abortion. Young people and women registered to vote and turned out in droves. A record-breaking number of Kansans cast their ballots and made their voices heard.

And we made history. With the first vote, the first victory, we protected women’s rights in our ongoing battle for equality and autonomy over our bodies.

The message that Kansas sent the nation one year ago was a message of hope and freedom. Sadly, it was a message that was ignored by the majority of state lawmakers here at home. Despite Kansas’ landslide vote, anti-abortion legislators returned to Topeka in the spring to continue their campaign of deception.

This session, anti-abortion extremists blatantly ignored the will of voters and pushed for even more laws to restrict and confuse access to abortion. They passed bills placing greater criminal penalties on abortion providers, requiring doctors to give patients misinformation about unproven and dangerous “possible abortion reversal,” and they provided $2 million in taxpayer-funded handouts to politically motivated organizations that mislead women who may seek abortion services.

Patients turned away from hospitals in Missouri

Because of the Aug. 2 vote, Kansans were protected from more dangerous bans. Women in other states do not have the same protection.

Many of our neighboring states chose to pass extreme bans on abortion — many prohibiting it completely, with no exception for rape or incest. In Missouri, one patient told reporters she was turned away by two hospitals and that lifesaving health care was delayed when she was having a miscarriage. In Oklahoma, another patient was told by hospital staff that “we cannot touch you unless you are crashing in front of us or your blood pressure goes so high that you are fixing to have a heart attack.” She nearly died from sepsis. And just a few weeks ago, a 19-year-old was sentenced to jail time in Nebraska for taking the abortion pill.

These are just a few of the many heartbreaking, terrifying and life-threatening situations caused by extreme abortion bans in post-Roe America, and we stand in solidarity with all of the women who are impacted by them. Unless we are vigilant, this could still be Kansas’ future, too. Because despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Kansans voted to protect our fundamental right to bodily autonomy last August, it is clear from this year’s legislative session that anti-abortion lawmakers will not stop. Instead, they will continue to chip away at our constitutional rights — even after nearly 60% of Kansans said no. We have to keep fighting and we have to keep showing up. Every election matters. Every vote matters. Every voice matters.

As the temperature hit triple digits again this week, I was reminded of knocking on doors last summer. I still feel the pride in our state and the fundamental faith in democracy that I felt that night one year ago today. But after experiencing first-hand the barrage of anti-abortion legislation this spring, I also know that just like democracy, our fight for reproductive freedom will be an ongoing one.

Kansans stood strong to protect the fundamental right to bodily autonomy one year ago today. We saved the lives of countless patients and reminded the nation what real freedom and liberty looks like. Because of the votes of so many, our rights are protected–for now. As we move forward, we must continue to protect them, together.