Voters in Kansas defend abortion rights and prevent a ban.

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Kansas's TOPEKA (AP) — On Tuesday, voters in Kansas voted down a measure that would have given the state's Republican-controlled legislature [{ "selector": ".mxgtl-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "1500ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

Republican-controlled legislature the power to impose more stringent restrictions on abortion or outright outlaw it.

Since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in June, the referendum in the conservative state was the first opportunity to gauge public opinion in the US about abortion rights.

Following weeks in which several states in the South and Midwest largely outlawed abortion, it was a significant triumph for proponents of the right to an abortion.

The Kansas Constitution was up for modification, but voters decided against adding language clarifying that abortion is not a constitutionally protected right [{ "selector": ".oomec-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "1500ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

and might have prevented legislative attempts to pass new limitations by stating that access to abortion is a "fundamental" right protected by the state's Bill of Rights. [{ "selector": ".rsbft-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "1000ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]