January 14, 2025
This is not an easy topic to dive into, and I understand that it may challenge some deeply held beliefs. But it’s a conversation we need to have.
First, let me clarify my personal stance: I am pro-life, and this has been shaped by my political, philosophical, and religious beliefs.
The turning point for me came in 1993 when a dear friend, Tim Golba, asked me a simple yet profound question after I filed for Olathe School Board: “Are you pro-life?”
So, yes, I am pro-life. However, I live in Kansas, a state which has enshrined within its constitution the right of abortion on demand until 22 weeks in August of 2022.
Abortion on demand, what does this mean statistically? Well, the 2023 KDHE report was released in November, after the 2024 general election. Timing rather convenient for the more liberal leaning politicians…but, back to the report.
In 2023 there were 19,467 abortions in Kansas, 4,355 were residents of Kansas, 15,111 were out of state. Live births in Kansas were 34,041. Abortion to live birth ratio was 57.1%…that is sobering, no matter your stance on the Life Issue.
Now the statistic that has my head reeling: for women (categorized as such in KDHE report) ages 10-14 there were 36 abortions. 23 non residents, 13 residents.
Number one: girls 10-14 are not women they are girls. Number 2: a girl under the age of 16 who has an abortion in Kansas, is not of the age of consent (in Kansas 16), therefore she is a victim of sexual abuse, statutory rape and/or child trafficking. These incidents require health providers to report either to our Department of Children and Families (DCF) and/or to law enforcement.
How has DCF responded to these reports? So far, I have found nothing. Nothing with the JoCo District Attorney’s office or the State Senators with whom I have corresponded. 23 of these abortions on children under 15 were transported across state lines…yet, no headlines, no investigations, no charges that I have found.
Time simply goes on and our dysfunctional society goes forward, blind to what is happening. Some individuals purposely choose to ignore what they know, most are truly disengaged and smug with the attitude that abortion is a decision between a doctor and a woman.
Please remember, these girls cannot drive themselves to the abortion clinic, they cannot legally consent to the procedure, yet 36 times proof positive abuse was presented to the “medical” community. 6 of these 36 abortions were listed as reported abuse by KDHE. However, I can find nothing that suggests there are active investigations of these 6 incidents. Therefore, it appears nothing has been done to protect any of these 36 girls under the age of 15.
No one in Kansas, pro-life or pro-choice, wants this statistical FACT to be the result of abortion on demand, but according to the 2023 KDHE report it is.
Read the full report here: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/43918/-2023-Annual-Summary-Full-Report-PDF?bidId=
The Kansas legislature made a mistake when it allowed Kansans for Life to write the proposed amendment. They should have done it themselves. The Secretary of State should NOT have included the short description of the amendment. If he had not done that, voters would have had to read the amendment in its entirety. I spoke to a young woman who told me she was voting against the amendment because it didn’t provide for abortion in cases of rape, incest, etc. If she had read the entire amendment instead of the condensed version, she would have known that the amendment did, in fact, provide for abortion under those conditions.