Former Governor Jeff Colyer told a Grandview Plaza audience Tuesday that Kansans should make their own decisions on abortions. He spoke about the proposed Value Them Both amendment that will be on the Aug. 2 primary election ballot. "It's important that Kansans make their own decisions on this, not out of state interest groups. What the amendment does is it just allows the state legislature to pass the common sense laws that Kansans want. That's what this is about so we can make our own decisions."
Colyer supports no government funding for abortions. "There are tri-member abortions, dismemberment abortions. Those are things that have very common sense, have wide acceptance across the state."
Colyer told the audience at Stacy's Restaurant in Grandview Plaza that in Kansas politics a large amount of money is being seen from out of state interests that would favor unfettered abortion rules and want to make Kansas a destination for abortions in the United States. "Without the Value Them Both amendment we will have the most liberal abortion laws not only in the midwest, not even more liberal than California or New York, but more liberal than places like the United Kingdom or Germany or France." Colyer added it's important to get out and vote.
The state Supreme Court has ruled the current constitutional language protects abortion rights. It’s the first such vote in the nation since the U.S. Supreme Court declared last month that states can prohibit abortion. The proposal on the Kansas ballot Aug. 2 would amend the Kansas Constitution to allow the Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. There is concern from opponents of the Kansas measure that it could lead to an abortion ban.