Kansas made a saddening choice on abortion. But our work for mothers and babies continues.

Sen. Roger Marshall, MD
·3 min read
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As an OB-GYN who delivered more than 5,000 babies over a 25-year career, I cannot begin to find words to express the sadness that I and many others are feeling after Kansas voters dealt an enormous blow Tuesday to efforts to protect the sanctity of life.

I urged Kansans to vote “yes” on the Value Them Both Amendment to value the life, health and safety of moms and unborn babies. Amending the state constitution would have allowed Kansas elected officials to place commonsense limits on abortion. But the radical left predictably stepped up its efforts to back the abortion industry.

Kansas voters rejected the amendment Tuesday.

Thank you to those who helped support the amendment

I want to thank everybody who worked so hard to support this amendment. Their work was important and unfortunately became dangerous – including when one Kansas teenager was shoved and punched in the face while knocking on doors, according to the Students for Life organization.

Jarring anger: Crisis pregnancy centers help mothers and babies. Why does that enrage the left?

Student canvassers from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America go door to door in Olathe, Kansas, on July 8, 2022, to talk to prospective voters about a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.
Student canvassers from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America go door to door in Olathe, Kansas, on July 8, 2022, to talk to prospective voters about a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution.

I hope this incident and the outcome of Tuesday’s vote do not hinder the community’s dedication to the sanctity of life, and to the fight to protect the lives of moms and unborn babies.

We will work to support mothers

I certainly respect the process and the voices of all Kansans, but this is not the last chapter of this book. We must not rest. There is much work to be done to support moms through those difficult times when they are contemplating abortion and decide instead for life.

Is this what America has become? Medical students shunned a doctor because of her abortion views.

It’s not easy being pregnant, especially for teenagers and single women, who have significant social, nutritional, physical and emotional needs. Each of us needs to be good neighbors, a voice of hope, and to reach out and give them all the help we can.

Having started and supervised multiple family planning clinics, I can tell you that Republicans and Democrats must work together and continue to work for more and earlier access to prenatal care and proper nutrition, as well as child care and attending to all the social challenges a young single or married mom faces.

Kansas voters upheld the right to an abortion 61%-39% on Aug. 2, 2022.
Kansas voters upheld the right to an abortion 61%-39% on Aug. 2, 2022.

Family planning opportunities need to be expanded, and mothers need greater access to services that will support them and their babies throughout and after pregnancy.

While life-affirming medical clinics already outnumber abortion clinics – according to an analysis from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America – we can and will do more to help mothers. I look forward to bipartisan cooperation, to being part of the solution to maternity issues, all of which began before Tuesday’s vote in Kansas and the Supreme Court’s recent decision.

Tough lesson, GOP: Kansas shows anti-abortion Republicans how voters react when you go after their rights

I will continue to protect life

Finally, I recognize family planning and access to contraception will be as important as ever. As I have in the past, I will continue to support robust funding for community health centers and the county health departments like those I once volunteered at and oversaw.

Dr. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN, practiced medicine for more than 25 years before he was elected in 2020 to serve as a U.S. senator from Kansas.
Dr. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN, practiced medicine for more than 25 years before he was elected in 2020 to serve as a U.S. senator from Kansas.

I have dedicated my entire professional life to providing for the health and safety of moms and babies, and I’m not going to let them down now. I remain as dedicated as ever to doing everything in my power as a U.S. senator to protect life at all costs.

Dr. Roger Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, practiced medicine for more than 25 years and served in the Army Reserves for seven years. He's a Republican who has served since 2021 as a U.S. senator from Kansas.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas abortion vote a sad outcome for sanctity of life. Back to work.