Following a key referendum in which the conservative state of Kansas spoke out in favor of keeping the right to abortion intactthe US president, Joe Biden, affirmed this Wednesday that the result of said vote is a sign that in November, in the mid-term elections, citizens will bet on protecting the rights of women.
(Also read: Kansas: first US state to ratify the right to abortion in a referendum)
Residents of this rural state were the first to speak out on a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy since the Supreme Court struck down June 24 and gave states the power to legislate on the issue.
With a high turnout, nearly 60 percent of voters Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have weakened the right to terminate a pregnancy.
The consultation was especially relevant because it can set a precedent. The vote, moreover, was seen as a test before the November elections.
The Democrats and their leader Biden, weakened by rampant inflation and a slowing economy, hope to save some seats in Congress by mobilizing their voters in defense of abortion rights. And what happened in Kansas gave them reason to hope for the elections.
(You may be interested: Lawsuit to the state of Idaho to protect access to abortion)
Precisely, the US president appeared again this Wednesday in favor of access to abortion and highlighted the victory of the defenders of this right in Kansas.
“Voters have sent a strong message: In November, Americans will vote to preserve this right,” the Democratic president said during a speech at the White House.
Biden called Republicans trying to “ban all abortions in every state” “extremists.”
“They have no idea of the power of American women, but last night in Kansas they were able to measure it,” she continued, before signing her second executive order in a month, aimed at minimizing the effects of the high court’s reversal.
The order signed this Wednesday commits that patients seeking “reproductive health services” be covered by the federal medical subsidy program for low-income people.
(Keep reading: US: House passes initiative to protect contraceptives)
It also seeks to ensure that medical service providers comply with non-discrimination laws.
However, Biden’s initiatives remain rather vague and limited in scope in a country where presidential power, great as it may seem, weighs little against the powers of the states, Congress and the Supreme Court.
The measures have not prevented a dozen states from banning abortion in their territory and, in the long term, the termination of pregnancy will be almost impossible in half of the 50 states of the country, especially in the south and the more religious center.
Instead, progressive states are seeking to protect abortion rights, and voters in California, Michigan, Nevada and Vermont will also vote this year on protection measures.
According to the latest polls, about 60 percent of the US population supports abortion rights, and while there are significant partisan divides, nearly 40 percent of Republican voters support it.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING*
*With information from AFP and Efe
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