“Overturning Roe is not making laws reflect what people want - new survey highlights flaws in Supreme Court’s reasoning in returning abortion authority to states.”
Kansans overwhelmingly voted, 59% to 41%, to maintain the state’s constitutional right to an abortion in a referendum held on Aug. 2, 2022. The referendum’s result, by which voters made their opinions directly known on abortion, highlights the disconnection between public opinion and restrictive state abortion laws passed by many conservative state legislatures after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The referendum outcome closely mirrors the percentages of Kansas residents who, in a survey we conducted, said that they support abortion to protect the life of the mother – 62% – and in cases of rape – 61%.
Our findings suggest an explanation for the referendum results: While most Kansas voters do not support unrestricted abortion access – for instance, only 18% of Kansans support abortion after fetal viability and 26% do so after a heartbeat is detected – neither do they support complete bans on abortion.