TOPEKA
– (June 24, 2022) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued the following
statement in relation to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs
v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
“Today’s
landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court was the right one because as a
matter of constitutional interpretation, as the Court writes, ‘Roe was
egregiously wrong from the start.’ Now, the Court explains, ‘The
permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be
resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to
persuade one another and then voting.’
“Today’s
decision means the power and responsibility to decide the important and
difficult questions involving regulation of abortion have been returned to the
people instead of federal judges. The people of Kansas will speak directly
to this subject in less than six weeks. In voting on the Value Them Both
amendment, Kansans will decide whether state judges may determine how
abortion is regulated in Kansas or whether that is a responsibility for the
elected and democratically accountable branches of state government.
“In my view, the increase in the number of abortions in Kansas the past two
years after a long period of steady decline is distressing. I prefer a future
with less abortion, not more. To preserve existing limits on late-term
abortions, requirements parents be notified when minors seek abortion, and
prohibitions on using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion, I
will join with other pro-life Kansans in casting my
vote for Value Them Both. On August 2, the people will speak and their
voice will show the path forward for Kansas.”