Ensure Access to Abortion Care! — Vote!

From Julie A. Burkhart, Trust Women;

Spring is blooming around us.  Days are getting longer.  The weather is warming up. Time and weather wait for no one.  Legislative sessions across the country are continuing, and electoral races are moving forward.  News about the presidential election is inescapable, as states across the country continue to hold their primary elections and caucuses.  While the primary season will be winding down before party conventions at the end of summer, state electoral races will be starting soon.  

In Kansas, 2016 is a very important year; as not only House seats will be up for election, but also the entire Senate will up for grabs.  Some of these races will be decided by the primary election in late summer; others will be filled during the general election in November.  

Wherever you live, local elections are important for reproductive health access. Because reproductive health policy is created, for the most part, at the state level, state lawmakers have significant control over access to abortion services and other reproductive health care in their state.  This is why, as advocates for reproductive rights, we must remain vigilant during local elections.  We must ask candidates how they will vote on reproductive rights issues, how they will support or deny access to reproductive health care and how they will vote if their personal beliefs are different than the needs of their constituents.  

Just as we carefully weigh the beliefs of presidential and gubernatorial candidates, we must also ask legislative candidates what they would support if elected and how they will vote on reproductive rights restrictions.  We must also committee to holding our lawmakers accountable

Together, we can accomplish legislative change that will reshape the map of access to abortion, but we have to make our voices heard and use our votes to do it.  

Julie A. Burkhart

Founder and CEO

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