Sunflower State Surprise: 5 Takeaways As Kansas Keeps Right To Abortion In Constitution

August 5, 2022 Bobby Ross Jr.

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(ANALYSIS) Catholic churches and dioceses in Kansas spent millions of dollars in support of a referendum to remove the right to abortion from the state’s constitution.

But in America’s first big post-Roe test, Tuesday’s ballot measure failed — and by a wide margin — with nearly 3 in 5 voters opposing it.

Given the Sunflower State’s solid conservative credentials, the referendum’s defeat might qualify as Kansas’ second-biggest upset in recent memory (college football fans won’t soon forget No. 1).

What exactly happened? Here are five takeaways:

1. Yes, Kansas has a history of voting for conservative Republicans, particularly for president. But its political leanings are more complicated.

On the one hand, the New York Times’ Mitch Smith and Katie Glueck note:

While Kansas has a history of voting for governors of both parties, the state almost always backs Republicans for president — Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 was a notable exception. It is a largely white state and many Kansans identify as Christians, with a sizable evangelical constituency. Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., has long been a hero to many conservative Catholics for his ardent opposition to abortion, contraception and gay marriage.

But on the other hand, Kansas State University political scientist Brianne Heidbreder points to Kansas’ political unpredictably dating back to 1861, when it became the 34th state.

Heidbreder spoke to the New York Times’ Maggie Astor:

“While it is a very conservative state, there is a large proportion of the electorate that really considers itself moderate,” Dr. Heidbreder added.

Patrick Miller, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kansas, pointed to a crucial distinction: “We’re more Republican than we are conservative.”

Among the crucial factors in Tuesday’s election: a heavy turnout of Democratic women, many of whom had never voted in a primary election. (Typically, there is no reason for them to vote in the primary as most races only draw one Democrat in GOP-dominated Kansas.)

2. Referendum opponents appealed to Kansans’ belief in individual freedom. That message seemed to resonate across political and rural/urban lines.

Reuters’ Gabriella Borter and Joseph Ax explain:

In Kansas, opponents of the amendment said they emphasized themes of bodily autonomy and individual freedom to win over voters with complex views on reproductive rights. Advertisements leaned into many Kansans’ reluctance to allow the government to intervene in personal healthcare decisions, encouraging voters to “say no to more government control.”

More from Heidbreder’s Times interview:

“Kansas residents are open to appeals from both sides that push back on the idea of government mandates or involvement in people’s lives,” Dr. Heidbreder said. “This idea that government shouldn’t be involved or shouldn’t mandate what you do when it comes to your health care, that it is a personal decision — that’s the philosophy that was really identified by the opponents of this amendment as something that could really take hold with Kansas voters.”

How surprising was this outcome? The ballot measure lost by 18 percentage points in a state that former President Donald Trump, a Republican, carried by 15 points in 2020, the Wall Street Journal points out.

3. Religion frequently plays a role in opposition to abortion, particularly in the Bible Belt. But Kansas is in the Midwest, not the South.

Kansas, where abortion currently is legal in the first 22 weeks of pregnancy, has a relatively high proportion of residents (71%) who describe themselves as very or moderately religious, according to Gallup.

According to the Pew Research Center, 76% of Kansas adults identify as Christian, including 31% who are evangelical Protestant, 24% percent who are mainline Protestant and 18% who are Catholic.

However, experts disagree on whether the state is part of the Bible Belt.

Katherine Burgess, former religion writer for the Wichita Eagle (now with the Memphis Commercial Appeal), wrote a fascinating story on that question in 2017.

Experts quoted by Burgess shared a variety of perspectives. Kansas, one source suggested, is perhaps “a lighter shade of the Bible Belt.”

4. This week’s referendum wasn’t Kansas’ first time in the national abortion spotlight. The state has been there before.

The Times’ Smith and Glueck recount:

Kansas has been a focal point of the national abortion debate at least since 1991, when protesters from across the country gathered in Wichita and blocked access to clinics during weeks of heated demonstrations that they called the Summer of Mercy.

At times, the state has seen violence over the issue. In 1986, a Wichita abortion clinic was attacked with a pipe bomb. In 1993, a woman who opposed abortion shot and injured Dr. George Tiller, one of only a few American physicians who performed late-term abortions. In 2009, another anti-abortion activist shot and killed Dr. Tiller at his
Wichita church.

In the recent campaign, signs on both sides were vandalized, as was at least one church, according to a preelection report by the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Andrew Bahl:

Photos show the words “My body, my choice” sprayed on a wall at the Ascension Catholic School. The church said other parish buildings and a statue of the Blessed Mary were also vandalized with red spray paint, with the graffiti discovered Sunday morning.

The church has prominently advocated in support of the constitutional amendment, including donating $10,000 to the Value Them Both Coalition, campaign finance records show.

5. Anti-abortion forces in Kansas insist the fight isn’t over. They blame misinformation for the referendum’s defeat.

The Washington Post’s Annie Gowen notes:

Even as abortion rights forces popped their champagne at the victory party Tuesday, the Value Them Both coalition called the outcome a “temporary setback” in a statement on Twitter, signaling that the battle was far from over. The group blamed an “onslaught of misinformation from the radical left organizations that spent millions of out-of-state dollars to spread lies about the Value Them Both Amendment.”

“Our dedicated fight to value women and babies is far from over,” the group’s statement said, promising “we will be back.”

The Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, which gave roughly $3 million to the anti-abortion side, said in a post-election statement:

Unfortunately, we were not able to overcome the millions spent by the abortion industry to mislead Kansans about the amendment, nor the overwhelming bias of the secular press whose failure to report clearly on the true nature of the amendment served to advance the cause of the abortion industry.

The Church and the pro-life community will continue its tangible and compassionate service to women facing unplanned or difficult pregnancies and to women and men needing healing after an abortion. In fact, we commit to increasing our support as Kansas becomes a destination state for abortion.

At the Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Peggy Noonan offers this simple take on the referendum’s defeat: The pro-lifers “asked for too much because they failed to prepare for the debate after” Roe’s demise.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein has an interesting, in-depth piece on the abortion fight in Florida.

Boorstein reports on seven clergy members — two Christians, three Jews, one Unitarian Universalist and a Buddhist — suing over the state’s new, post-Roe abortion law. They argue “that their ability to live and practice their religious faith is being violated.”

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen: Nearly 12,000 pages of sealed records obtained by The Associated Press offer insight into sex abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Michael Rezendes reports.

As the AP writer explains, families of survivors point to a “so-called help line” that they say is “part of a system that can easily be misused by church leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harm’s way.”

Rezendes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who was a part of the Boston Globe team that in 2002 exposed clergy abuse in the Catholic Church and inspired the 2015 movie “Spotlight.”

2. Ten years after the 2012 Sikh Temple tragedy, mass shootings remain rampant in Wisconsin: A team of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel journalists — including religion writer Sophie Carson — tackle various angles at the shooting’s 10th anniversary.

A Twitter thread by Carson outlines the series and specific stories by Ashley Luthern, Evan Casey, Elliot Hughes, Erik S. Hanley and herself.

At Religion News Service, Alejandra Molina focuses on how Sikhs “are standing in solidarity with other faith communities that have since fallen victim to violent hate crimes.”

3. Schism in the body: As the United Methodist Church starts to rupture, journalist Barry Yeoman focuses on a single congregation — “with members ranging from 'flaming progressive to dang near fundamentalist'” — as it “tries to reconcile an increasingly unavoidable divide.”

Yeoman’s piece appears in The Assembly, a North Carolina digital magazine.

In related news, Arkansas’ second-largest United Methodist congregation has voted to break away from the national denomination, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Frank E. Lockwood reports.

BONUS: Be sure to check out BeLynn Hollers’ first freelance piece for ReligionUnplugged.com.

Hollers, an editorial fellow for the Dallas Morning News, profiles a 100-year-old Lutheran church in Dallas that is grappling with challenges of COVID-19 and decline.

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

“I often think that American news outlets need to have more dedicated religion reporters — to have more coverage of religion,” host Brian Stelter said on Sunday’s edition of CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”

Can Stelter get an amen?

I thought so:

For those who don’t know the tweeters: Michelle Boorstein is a religion writer for the Washington Post. Jack Jenkins is a national reporter for Religion News Service. And Manya Brachear Pashman is a former Chicago Tribune religion writer who previously served as president of the Religion News Association.

Stelter’s comment came during a discussion of Christian nationalism with author Katherine Stewart.

P.S. More from the Godbeat: I usually write Plug-in early Friday morning. This week, I’m catching a plane then, so I wrote this Thursday afternoon.

While I was doing that, the Religion News Association announced its 2022 contest finalists, and Christianity Today named Russell Moore as its editor-in-chief.

Look for more on both developments in a future Plug-in.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

• RIP Ron Sider: An Evangelical caught in political crossfire (by Terry Mattingly)

• Pope Francis’ delayed African visit muddies hope for peace-building in DRC, South Sudan (by Tawanda Karombo)

• Pro-life pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics, offer compassion and tangible help (by Kim Roberts)

• Christian scientist helped reveal beauty of universe through James Webb telescope (by Gabriel Grant Huff)

• An interview with the Greek Orthodox environmental chief for ‘the Green Patriarch’ (by Jovan Tripkovic)

• How do we define ‘progressive Christianity’? (by Dr. Michael Brown)

• Beyond Roe v. Wade, author Joshua Prager explores ‘The Family Roe’ (by Paul Glader)

• Contrary to the perception, most preachers avoid politics — here’s why (by Paul Prather)

• Revisit of ‘due process’ rights led to reversal of Roe (by Kenneth Pybus)

• The Gambia presses case against Myanmar at International Court of Justice (by Ewelina U. Ochab)

• D.C. camp helps children explore their diverse world and build faith connections (by Gabriel Grant Huff)

The Final Plug

The baseball world mourns Vin Scully this week.

The Hall of Fame broadcaster, who called Dodgers games for 67 years, died Tuesday night. He was 94.

As The Associated Press’ Beth Harris notes, Scully was “a devout Catholic who attended Mass on Sundays before heading to the ballpark.”

After Scully retired in 2016, Los Angeles Daily News columnist Tom Hoffarth told me about a phone conversation he had with Scully.

Scully told him:

If I had done this job five years, 15 years, there would not have been close to the media hoopla of having done this 67 years. God was in control the whole way. I don't feel any self-gratification at all.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.

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