After Dobbs, Ravens Fight for Value Them Both

This past Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States made one of its most controversial and important rulings to date. Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Center has overturned Roe v Wade and sent the issue of abortion back to the states for them to argue about. The moral aspects of this debate are outlined very well by Dr. Kevin Vance here.

However, for Kansas this means nothing. On August 2, Kansans will vote on the Value Them Both amendment which will undo a 2019 state Supreme Court which created an unlimited right to abortion. Cleanliness standards for clinics, parental notification requirements for minors, even bans on live dismemberment abortion are being struck down under the ruling.

I’m a republic, the people debate important moral and political issues through their elected representatives. But the courts in Kansas took this power away from their legislature and gave it to nine unelected lawyers. The fundamental argument of Dobbs is that the issue of abortion should be one for the political process to decide rather than a judicial fiat and the Value Them Both amendment is a continuation of that.

This fight is about more than Kansas. Planned Parenthood projects that Kansas may have up to 100,000 abortions per year with mothers coming from out of state as surrounding states restrict the practice of abortion. Kansas will become a killing field. Not only that but this is the first time that the issue of abortion will be on the ballot and voted upon after Dobbs. National experts project that Value Them Both will set the tone for the abortion debate for years to come. The nation has set their sights on Kansas and they have set their sights on us.

Our mission as a college is to Transform Culture in America, thus seven Benedictine students are working full time to pass the amendment. We are knocking on thousands of doors and have made substantial progress in advancing this ballot initiative. Even before this summer, Ravens were influential in its passage. When Atchison’s Senator swayed on the key vote in the state senate for VTB, Ravens showed up at his door with over 400 petitions. Now we have made ourselves crucial actors in this pivotal fight.

I think that Value Them Both is a battle over what kind of culture we want to live in. Do we want a culture which allows an abortion industry to prey on young women? A culture which tells them that they are only as valuable as the dollar amount they produce? Or do we want a culture of life which cares for the sick, the elderly, the poor, and the unborn. A No vote on Value Them Both will allow an unrestricted abortion industry, and a culture of death, while a Yes vote will promote the culture of life which we seek to build as Ravens.