Hot-button abortion Amendment #2 confuses some voters; here’s what you need to know
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Now that the power to grant abortion access falls under statewide jurisdiction, Kentucky’s Constitutional Amendment #2 is a hot-button ballot topic.
But the amendment’s wording leaves some voters asking “What exactly will my yes vote or my no vote mean?”
Western Kentucky University Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Jeff Budziak helps break down Amendment #2 using neutral, easy-to-understand terminology.
“What this is really about is who has the power to make choices about abortion in Kentucky,” Budziak explained. “I think the confusion really stems from the fact that the language is not something as simple as, ‘Do I favor abortion, or do I not favor abortion?'”
To start from the basics, pro-life voters will most likely lean towards a yes vote. Pro-choice voters will likely cast a no vote.
A yes vote means you are voting to keep the power to make Kentucky’s abortion decisions with our state legislators.
Budziak explains that the ‘yes’ vote winning will most likely effectively end the abortion conversation for the near future.
“If democrats were to retake control of the majority of our state legislature, we might see that change. But right now the legislature is really dominated by Republicans, and most of those Republicans are pretty committed to not expanding abortion access.”
A winning ‘no’ vote does not mean Kentucky will automatically become a pro-choice state.
If ‘no’ wins, our state courts (the Judiciary Branch) will gain the ability to interpret our State of Kentucky’s constitution and decide if there’s room for abortion rights.
“[Amendment #2] is changing the rules of how we’re going to decide this question, not settling the answer to the question,” simplified Budziak. “If ‘no’ wins, it’s possible that a judge someday might interpret our state constitution to say there’s a right to an abortion. And there are cases pending in our Kentucky court system right now that are asking judges to do just that, including, shortly, the Kentucky Supreme Court, which is the place where that would be most likely to happen.”
