photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Protesters gather outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined the right to reproductive choice in the Constitution. Protesters were urging Kansans to vote no on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

Though the decision was anticipated, for some local advocates, that didn’t do much to blunt the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion.

And those on both sides of the issue stressed that regardless of the decision, abortion access is still in voters’ hands in Kansas, where an amendment will be on the ballot later this summer.

Lawrence resident Pat Willer, chair of the Douglas County Democrats, said though the decision that came down on Friday was expected — a draft of the decision leaked last month — the reality was no easier to bear.

“I felt just horrified,” Willer said. “It’s one thing to expect it, and it’s another thing to experience it. It’s historic and it’s tragic.”

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority voted 5-4, in an opinion released Friday morning, to overturn Roe v. Wade, giving states the ability to ban abortion. Some states already had bans on the books that will now go into effect, and Kansans will vote on Aug. 2 on the so-called “Value Them Both” amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

If approved, the Kansas amendment would reverse a decision that ruled the right to bodily autonomy in the state’s constitution included the right to decide whether to have an abortion. The amendment would allow bills that ban or further limit abortions in Kansas to move forward.

Lawrence resident Melinda Lavon, chair of the Kansas Vote No campaign against the amendment, said she’d been preparing for such a decision since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. As a midwife and member of the Kansas Maternal Mortality Review, Lavon said she was very sad about what the Supreme Court’s decision would mean for the country, where more people would die because of a lack of abortion access. Lavon said the choice before Kansans would save women’s lives.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Protesters gather outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined the right to reproductive choice in the Constitution. Protesters were urging Kansans to vote no on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

“People have the choice to keep our current Kansas Constitution the way it is, which would allow for reproductive care to continue in Kansas,” Lavon said. “I’m very concerned because we already have women that die for lack of abortion in Kansas every year, and that number is going to go up.”

Other groups were also reacting to the news and doubling down on their campaigns. The “Value Them Both” campaign put out a statement Friday praising the Supreme Court’s decision and speaking to the continued importance of the amendment.

Mackenzie Haddix, deputy communications director for the campaign, said in the statement that the Supreme Court’s decision “emphasizes the importance of our democracy, restoring the power to the states to decide how and if they are going to place limits on the abortion industry.” The statement goes on to say that the decision restored the people’s ability to come to individual consensus on abortion limits, but not in Kansas, and the amendment represented a “reasonable approach” to limit abortions.

Wichita resident Rija Nazir, lead organizer of the youth-focused Vote Neigh campaign against the Kansas amendment, said that even knowing the Supreme Court decision was coming, it was still an emotional blow.

“Nothing could have really prepared us for the amount of hurt that we feel and how devastated we are,” Nazir said.

In the face of Friday’s decision, Nazir said it just added more emphasis to the group’s message and the importance for young people to vote on Aug. 2.

“We are the first state following Roe v. Wade being overturned to vote on whether or not abortion can be legal in our state,” Nazir said. “And I think everybody needs to know how important this is.”

For her part, Willer said she’d heard a tremendous outpouring of outrage, fear and dread from people in Kansas regarding the Supreme Court’s decision, but at the same time it seemed to be serving as a call to action. Early Friday afternoon, Willer said about 40 people had already reached out to her wanting to volunteer, and she still had more emails and voicemails to get through.

“The Supreme Court decision was I think a tremendous wake-up call to just how at risk Kansans are, but also how we have a chance still to protect our constitutional freedom,” Willer said.

The Journal-World also reached out to the Douglas County Republican Party, but did not immediately hear back.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Protesters gather outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined the right to reproductive choice in the Constitution. Protesters were urging Kansans to vote no on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Protesters gather outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined the right to reproductive choice in the Constitution. Protesters were urging Kansans to vote no on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

Protesters gather outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined the right to reproductive choice in the Constitution. Protesters were urging Kansans to vote no on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A woman dressed as a handmaid at a protest of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Monique Mercurio leading response calls during a protest on June 24, 2022, at the Douglas County Courthouse.