Topeka ? Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Republican challenger Jim Barnett hold sharply contrasting views on abortion, but both have shied away from the issue while campaigning.

Sebelius has long been a supporter of abortion rights and as a House member once voted for taxpayer-funded abortions.

In a March fundraising letter, Barnett, an Emporia physician, declared that his belief in protecting life from conception “is at the core of who I am.”

The governor vetoed bills in 2003 and 2005 that would have singled out abortion clinics for additional state regulation, something Barnett said he would sign if elected.

But Sebelius is repeating a promise she made in 2002 not to seek changes in existing restrictions on abortion, even provisions she opposed as a legislator. And Barnett, a state senator, is emphasizing that, absent U.S. Supreme Court intervention, the state’s options in restricting abortion are somewhat limited.

Both are talking far more about other issues, such as education, immigration, health care and the economy.

“Most voters are not one-issue voters,” said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist.

But the Nov. 7 general election will determine how abortion is regulated in Kansas. A second term for Sebelius will be a setback for anti-abortion attempts to impose new regulation on clinics or restrictions on the procedure.

“Both candidates have clear positions, well-established by their previous legislative or executive office activity,” said Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, an abortion opponent.

“There’s a really clear distinction between the candidates on this issue.”

State law allows a woman to have an abortion if the fetus cannot survive outside the womb.

Doctors and patients must wait 24 hours after they’ve consulted to perform the procedure, and a clinic must provide women with information about the procedure, its risks and fetal development. When a minor seeks an abortion, a doctor must notify a parent or guardian, absent a court waiver.

If the fetus is viable, an abortion generally can’t be performed unless the woman’s life is in danger or she faces permanent damage to “a major bodily function.” However, a procedure the law calls “partial-birth abortion” is permitted to preserve a woman’s physical or mental health.