Stacey Abrams says Georgia will 'follow Kansas’s lead' after state votes down abortion ballot initiative
On All In With Chris Hayes Wednesday, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams addressed the vote in Kansas on Tuesday overwhelmingly supporting a woman’s right to an abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the state Constitution guaranteed the right to an abortion, meaning the Republican-led state legislature’s only option was to leave it up to the voters.
“I am strongly pro-choice because I understand that this is about freedom, this is about access, this is about a right for a woman to choose her future, and I believe that Georgia is going to follow Kansas’s lead,” Abrams said. “We do not allow ballot initiatives in Georgia, so the ballot initiative is voting me as governor of Georgia.”
While Abrams castigated Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for signing into law a 6-week abortion ban last month, she applauded the people of Kansas for showing up in droves to oppose the anti-abortion initiative. Voter registration skyrocketed by 1000% in the state since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
“They wanted the right to freedom for women in that state,” Abrams said. “They refused to allow women to be relegated to second-class citizenship, and I’m proud of Kansas, and I’m proud of America for taking the steps we need to take to protect abortion care in the United States of America.”
Video Transcript
STACEY ABRAMS: He's about, what right for a woman to choose her future. And I believe that Georgia is going to follow Kansas's lead. We do not allow ballot initiatives in Georgia. And so the ballot initiative is voting me as governor of Georgia.
KYLIE MAR: Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams appeared on "All In with Chris Hayes" Wednesday, where she weighed in on the citizens of Kansas overwhelmingly supporting reproductive rights in a statewide ballot initiative on Tuesday. Abrams praised Kansas, while castigating Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, for signing into law a six-week abortion ban in the state last month.
STACEY ABRAMS: We have to elect the governor who believes in the woman's right. I am the only candidate in this race who does so. Brian Kemp has said that he is overjoyed by this law, by this extreme ban, this lethal ban on women. And we know that what we saw in Kansas will be repeated here in the state of Georgia if women show up.
KYLIE MAR: Abrams also applauded the people of Kansas, where voter registration skyrocketed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June.
STACEY ABRAMS: They wanted the right to freedom for women in that state. They refuse to allow women to be relegated to second-class citizenship. And I'm proud of Kansas, and I'm proud of America for taking the steps we need to take to protect abortion care in the United States of America.
