TOPEKA _ A proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution suffered a major setback Friday, falling four votes shy of placement on the statewide August ballot.
House Republicans held open the vote for more than five hours in an effort to reach the required two-thirds majority, but drew only 80 votes with 84 needed. The amendment cleared the Senate last week.
If passed by voters, the amendment would mean the state constitution doesn't include the right to an abortion.
Supporters say it will guarantee lawmakers the ability to regulate abortion following a Kansas Supreme Court decision this spring that found a personal right to autonomy extends to a woman's decision to end a pregnancy. Opponents contend it could pave the way for the Legislature to ban abortion if the federal right to the procedure ever ends.
Until Friday, the amendment had been on a fast track to passage, powered by a coalition of anti-abortion groups that proposed it less than a month ago. But it hit a wall in the House, formed by Democrats and four Republicans. No Democrats backed the amendment even though several have supported anti-abortion legislation in the past.
The Republicans who voted no expressed reservations that the amendment was set for the August primary instead of the general election in November, when turnout would be higher.
Raising the stakes, the state's leading anti-abortion group released a statement Friday saying it would oppose Medicaid expansion unless the Legislature approved the amendment. Expansion enjoys bipartisan support and is a key goal of Gov. Laura Kelly, but is vehemently opposed by some Republican leaders.
"Passing the Value Them Both Amendment to the Kansas Constitution is the only way to ensure expansion does not turn into a new public funding stream for the abortion industry," Kansans for Life lobbyist Jeanne Gawdun said.
Gawdun said that unless the amendment becomes law, it is "highly likely that all regulations on the abortion industry will be struck down, including prohibitions on taxpayer funded abortions." Amendment opponents disagree with the idea that all regulations are in peril, however.
April Holman, director of the pro-expansion Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, said abortion and expansion are "two very separate issues."
"It's unfortunate that the two have become tangled together," Holman said in a statement. "The bottom line is that Medicaid expansion saves lives."
