By MARY WILKINSON, Kansans for Life
“I am grateful to the legislators who stood up today—no matter their reasoning—to reject this bill…”
So said Rachel Sweet, Kansas Lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, the world’s largest abortion provider. These comments were made to the Associated Press shortly after four Republicans in the Kansas House joined every Democrat in blocking passage of the Value Them Both Amendment to the Kansas Constitution.
Representative Don Hineman, R-Dighton, having a mixed pro-life voting record but from a solidly pro-life district, recently penned a statewide op-ed attempting to justify why he was one of the four Republicans to vote with the abortion industry. The Representative not only attempted to muddy the waters, but also tried to cast dispersions on the Kansas pro-life community for holding him accountable for his record. The fact of the matter is that Hineman voted against the most important pro-life measure of our generation. This column will simply explain the consequences of that vote and ask the central question: If Representative Hineman is pro-life like he claims, why is he working against the pro-life movement at this most critical time?
The Value Them Both Amendment was crafted and sought as a remedy to recent state court rulings that have endangered almost every limit on the abortion industry. Twenty laws, including bans on late-term and taxpayer funded abortions, and parental notification laws for minors seeking abortion, could soon be struck down. When comparing Kansas abortion rates from 1999 to today, these laws have helped to save an average of 15 lives a day.
The 15 lives a day averages out to 5,475 baby girls and boy annually—think of a town bigger than Russell, Kansas. Of course, this doesn't describe the pain and loss inflicted on 15 women a day. The stakes in passing the Value Them Both Amendment are high, and that is why a vote against the amendment is nothing short of cruel and antithetical to our values as Kansans.
Representative Hineman claims that, despite his vote, he is “pro-life” and that he drafted his own "alternative" to the Value Them Both Amendment. He continues to take issue with the proposed election date that the amendment would be submitted to voters (State Constitutional Amendments require two-thirds majorities in both legislative chambers and must be approved by voters at any election). He even makes the bizarre claim that KFL—and by extension the statewide coalition that supports Value Them Both—is somehow “lazy” for not agreeing with him.
To be clear, the Kansas Catholic Bishops, Leadership of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, Pastors from every corner of the state and the Family Policy Alliance are working with our organization on this effort. To further clarify, everyone previously mentioned supports placing the amendment on the August ballot. The reason for this is that the abortion industry will outspend our grassroots campaign by massive proportions. Ballot measures in other states—even very conservative states—have shown that the abortion industry will do anything to stop Value Them Both. There are too many lives at stake to risk on Hineman’s flawed (and maybe deceptively designed) strategy.
All of this should lead the reader to ask this simple question: If Representative Hineman is pro-life like he claims, why is he working against the pro-life movement at this most critical time?
Answer: It’s hard to claim you are pro-life when your position is celebrated by the abortion industry. It is also hard to claim you are pro-life when your vote opened the door to late-term and taxpayer funded abortion in Kansas.
Running from this vote will be difficult for Representative Hineman, and his constituents won’t soon forget.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Wilkinson President, Kansans for Life