Kansans are heading to the polls Aug. 2 to decide whether the state’s constitution protects the right to abortion — the first such constitutional amendment to be determined since the Supreme Court’s historic overturning of Roe v. Wade, ending federal protection, on June 24. More than a dozen Republican states have already moved by other means to ban or further restrict abortion in the wake of the decision that reversed Roe.

The ballot measure, if approved, would effectively overturn a 2019 decision by the state’s Supreme Court enshrining abortion rights in its constitution. The measure could pave the way for the legislature to pass a ban on abortion at a time when Kansas has become a destination for pregnant patients fleeing strict abortion measures in nearby states…

Value Them Both and other antiabortion advocates — who have knocked on more than 100,000 doors — have taken the public position that the ballot measure will not automatically lead to an outright ban on abortion but, rather, protect what they term reasonable safeguards passed before the state’s high court decision in 2019. Kansas allows abortion up to 22 weeks in pregnancy with additional restrictions such as a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and parental consent for minors.

Kansas University law professor Stephen McAllister, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who served as the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Kansas, said that they are being disingenuous, and the real goal of the amendment is to pave the way for the Republican-led legislature to pass an outright abortion ban in its next session in January.