[1][2][3] On June 24, 2022, six weeks before the referendum, the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing individual states to ban abortion.

While the Kansas referendum had already been scheduled, the Dobbs decision greatly increased the impact of its results, both in terms of its potential effects and as a bellwether of voter sentiment about abortion bans.

[4] The amendment was ultimately defeated by an 18-point margin, which was partially attributed to higher-than-usual turnout and an increase in voter registration in the run-up to the referendum.

One of them was put forward by a Representative to move the date to August 2021, arguing that "5,460 babies will perish" between 2021 and 2022, while another was put forward by Democrats to move the date to coincide with general elections on Election Day 2022, as there were concerns that not doing so would suppress turnout and benefit the proposal's supporters, although the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case might also energize pro-choice voters.

[1][2][3] It was put on the ballot through a house resolution passed in early 2021 with the goal of superseding a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2019 that the state constitution protected a woman's access to abortion.

Being the first abortion-related constitutional amendment on the ballot since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, it was considered a bellwether over Americans' view on abortion.

Saying that she opposed legislation that "interfered with a [woman's freedom]" to make "reproductive healthcare decisions [with] her physician", Kelly had faced a challenge in the concurrent gubernatorial election by Derek Schmidt, the Republican Attorney General who praised the overturn of Roe v. Wade and defended the state in the state court case.

To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.In addition to the proposed amendment, the house resolution also added an explanatory statement to the ballot paper as follows:[22][29] The Value Them Both Amendment would affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion, and would reserve to the people of Kansas, through their elected state legislators, the right to pass laws to regulate abortion, including, but not limited to, in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

Supporters of the "yes" vote said that the amendment would give voters the ability "to weigh in directly on the ballot so that we can pass [abortion] laws".

[41] Roger Marshall, the US senator for Kansas, criticized the results after the vote, citing his Christian faith:[42]While I don't have an answer, I do know that God works all things for good for those who trust him.

Tonight, we must still go to bed with faith and hope, for tomorrow we must be as dedicated to the sanctity of life, and to the fight to protect the lives of moms and unborn babies.

Each of us will have to pray and look in our hearts to see what's next.Meanwhile, on the same day as the referendum, President Joe Biden released a statement praising the measure's defeat, while criticizing the US Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade, saying:[43] The Supreme Court's extreme decision to overturn Roe v. Wade put women's health and lives at risk.

Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman's right to choose and open the door for a state-wide ban.

This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions.In response to the referendum results, several national Democratic Party leaders, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Brian Schatz, argued that the party's candidates should emphasize reproductive rights in the 2022 midterm elections.

[44][45] There had been initial fears that holding a referendum alongside statewide primaries (rather than the general election) would suppress turnout, but this ultimately did not happen.