Senators are recognizing individuals from their districts for accomplishments at the moment. We expect Rs and Ds to break for caucus meetings soon, then return for debate on abortion amendment. #ksleg
Also, please welcome KU student @sydhoover17 to our coverage team for this session. She is helping me with coverage of the abortion amendment this afternoon #ksleg
Heading to caucus now #ksleg
Wagle will carry amendment and answer questions on the floor #ksleg
Wagle says she is most concerned that high court found right for women without considering right of unborn child #ksleg
Wagle says urgency requires amendment on August primary ballot because AG can't defend existing laws already in jeopardy #ksleg
Rucker is explaining the "strict scrutiny" standard, which means any abortion restriction will be presumed unconstitutional upon arrival #ksleg
Wagle warns the high court decision is so extreme, it opens the door to unlimited abortion #ksleg
There's a question about amending the language to just ban all abortion. Wagle says they can't because of Roe v Wade #ksleg
Back on need for urgency, Rucker says "this is an issue of ripeness. It's ripe." #ksleg
Baumgardner warns that parental consent law could be struck down, which would greenlight abortions for 12-year-olds #ksleg
Pyle is asking about possibility of special election to address urgency and keep off primary ballot. He asks if she demanded it on primary, she says that's false #ksleg
Speaking to Wagle, that is
He also grills Wagle about using social media to promote a bill she is carrying. She says this is an important issue to Kansans #ksleg
Caucus is over #ksleg
Cleaning up the Pyle tweets: He told Wagle he heard she demanded the amendment be on the primary ballot in August, and she told him it was absolutely false. He then asked her if it was normal to use her social media account to tell people to tune in #ksleg
Sen. Kerschen is the one who asked, "Can we just say ban abortion period?" Wagle: "To ban abortion would violate Roe v. Wade, and then we'd be in U.S. Supreme Court" #ksleg
Wagle starts by sharing story about going to clinic as a young woman to get a free pregnancy test and asking about a map full of pins. The receptionist told her they represented women the clinic served from all over the world #ksleg
Wagle: "It's time we defend our process, that we defend our debate, that we defend the compromises we all come to, that we defend the legislation we passed, and that we not allow us to go back to that time of unlimited abortion that was a scar upon the state of Kansas." #ksleg
Some comments from Dem caucus, via @sydhoover17:
Francisco: "What we're dealing with is they're taking away rights that were established in the Kansas Bill of Rights"
Haley: "It's hard to really fathom how we could go so far backwards"
#ksleg
Francisco: "What we're dealing with is they're taking away rights that were established in the Kansas Bill of Rights"
Haley: "It's hard to really fathom how we could go so far backwards"
#ksleg
Doll is raising concern with placing constitutional amendment on August ballot, which will be "an unfunded mandate" to counties. He proposes moving the amendment to general election in November #ksleg
Doll says more people will turn out to general election, and "people have a right to speak out on this" #ksleg
Wagle is lamenting unregulated back-alley abortions she envisions if the constitutional amendment isn't put in place before November election #ksleg
Wagle: "I believe we have to act for the greater good, for the higher calling, and that we need to put this on the ballot quickly because of the risk we're taking if we don't" #ksleg
Wagle: "I would be glad to help your counties help pay for this" because life is more important than the few dollars it would cost to add question to ballots #ksleg
Miller is calling for special election as alternative to August primary, since Wagle prefers sooner rather than later. A special election could be set 90 days out. #ksleg
Miller says a constitutional amendment must be placed on special election or general election. If this is sacred, he says, why run the risk that Kansas Supreme Court will strike it down? #ksleg
I'll spare you the details, but Senate is basically debating the meaning of "special election" #ksleg
Senate rejects Doll amendment 27-13, keeping the constitutional question on the August primary #ksleg
Holland: "I think what we just witnessed is why citizens distrust government" #ksleg
Miller says he struggles with how to vote on this matter: "I believe in God, the father almighty, and I will tell you before I go any further that I am a proud Roman Catholic, and that I became one long after I reached adulthood" #ksleg
Miller says he also believes in science and medicine, and that both of those things are gifts from god #ksleg
He said he was humbled when archbishop called to discuss issue:
"He said he would pray for me, and I appreciate that, and I hope he continues to do so, and I know he will" #ksleg
"He said he would pray for me, and I appreciate that, and I hope he continues to do so, and I know he will" #ksleg
Miller: "Those beliefs I have are somewhat conflicted, and one of the reasons I am somewhat conflicted with ... the duty that I have to not just represent members of my faith but all of those I represent regardless of whether their beliefs are consistent with my own" #ksleg
Miller chokes up while reflecting on experiences of women #ksleg
Miller: "I don't know that I could even come close to knowing what it would be like to be a woman and have these types of decisions in my face. I can't imagine that." #ksleg
Miller proposes an amendment to make an exception for rape, incest and to save the life of a mother #ksleg
Wagle: "I think this fear that the Legislature is going to ban abortion in the case of rape, incest or to save the life of a mother. It's just that, a fear. It's not going to happen." #ksleg
Wagle says she looked up "scare tactic" in the dictionary, and that she doesn't know of anyone in either chamber who would propose banning all abortion #ksleg
Senators are mulling changes to ballot grammar. Here's the early version of my story on tonight's debate #ksleg cjonline.com/news/20200129/…
Julie Burkhart of @TrustWomen on tonight's debate: “It’s even more clear to me that this is about taking away the rights that Kansas women are afforded, and that is to make decisions privately with their physicians, their family, their pastor" #ksleg cjonline.com/news/20200129/…
Hensley is proposing an amendment that would add language saying no bill can prohibit abortion in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of a mother #ksleg
We're at ease while Rs to figure out how to respond #ksleg
For reference, he's more story on the high court ruling that set this debate in motion #ksleg cjonline.com/news/20190426/…
Wagle says Hensley change would carve a segment of women "out of the legislative process so that we can no longer apply the standards that we've already passed that most Kansans already approve of." #ksleg
Hensley says he's responding to Wagle's earlier statement that Legislature would never impose such a ban. #ksleg
If you missed it earlier, in meeting of Republicans before debate, Sen. Dan Kerschen, R-Garden Plain, asked: "Can we just say ban abortion period?" Wagle told him no. #ksleg
Wagle defends the application of restrictions to victims of rape and incest or when a mother's life is in danger: "This language protects women in vulnerable situations by applying the same laws to them" #ksleg
Holand says he keeps hearing that we want people to vote, but decision to place on primary ballot shows that we are instead hoping Kansans don't show up to vote #ksleg
On Hensley proposal, Holand says "if we do not adopt this, we have crossed that line of demarcation. We have started down the path of trampling women's rights. Despite the promises, we will have done that" #ksleg
Francisco says we're here because of legislation that banned a popular procedure, and the court found alternatives were dangerous to the health of women #ksleg
Francisco: "We do not have a very good reputation for protecting a woman's health" #ksleg
Baumgardner says as recently as 2003, abortion providers were still using a dishwasher to sterilize surgical instruments: "I do not trust the abortion industry in Kansas" #ksleg
Hensley amendment fails 28-12 #ksleg
If I understand correctly, Sykes is effectively attempting the same protections as Hensley and Miller #ksleg
I'm seeing several people asking bots to unroll my thread on the #ksleg abortion debate. Another option for reading a stack of information placed together in a more meaningful way is the story at cjonline.com/news/20200129/…
Francisco is having staff distribute a copy of the Kansas Bill of Rights, calls the high court ruling "incredibly thoughtful and appropriate" #ksleg
Francisco reads part of the Kansas Supreme Court ruling to the chamber, says the proposed constitutional amendment breaks "the foundation we depend on" #ksleg
She is talking about a possible amendment to the Bill of Rights that would extend protections to "all individuals" instead of "all men," but defers because the debate has gone so long #ksleg
Wagle now closing, four hours after she launched the debate #ksleg
Wagle says founders of Kansas constitution didn't envision denial of rights to a child in the womb #ksleg
The abortion amendment gets first-round approval on a voice vote #ksleg
Now moving to final action #ksleg
Preliminary vote is 28-12, with Skubal joining Democrats in opposition #ksleg
Haley says he opposes the amendment because he doesn't want to turn women into slaves #ksleg
Senate passes abortion amendment 28-12 #ksleg cjonline.com/news/20200129/…
Brittany Jones, advocacy director for the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, said the Senate action was "the biggest pro-life vote of this generation, and we are proud of the debate" #ksleg cjonline.com/news/20200129/…
