Pittsburg forum to spotlight Aug. 2 ballot issue on abortion

Emily Younker, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Jul. 12—PITTSBURG, Kan. — Kansas voters are invited to view a public forum that will explore a state constitutional amendment about abortion that has been placed on the Aug. 2 ballot.

The forum will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday and will be livestreamed on KOAM-TV's YouTube page, youtube.com/c/koamnewsnow. A live audience will not be allowed for the safety and security of the panelists, the city of Pittsburg said Monday.

Under current law, Kansas does not ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy, when they're allowed only to save a patient's life or to prevent "a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function."

The state Supreme Court in 2019 declared that access to abortion is a "fundamental" right under the state constitution.

The GOP-controlled Legislature has placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot during the Aug. 2 primary. The amendment would declare that the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion, and it would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion as much as the federal courts will allow.

Forum participants are:

—The Rev. Jim Fredette, a retired United Church of Christ clergyman.

—Cheryl Mayo, director of Pittsburg Mother to Mother Ministry, a nonprofit assisting women with minor children who need extra mentoring and support.

—Dawn McNay, a Pittsburg resident and longtime volunteer with organizations that support families and children.

—Dr. Michael Nagle, a Pittsburg resident and semiretired physician specializing in treating patients with chronic wounds.

—The Rev. Jerome Spexarth, a Roman Catholic priest who has served as the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church and St. Mary's Colgan Schools since 2018.

—Dr. Emily Walters, a graduate of Pittsburg High School and Pittsburg State University and currently an anesthesiologist at an area hospital.

The forum will be moderated by Dowe Quick, news anchor at KOAM-TV. Matt O'Malley, civic facilitator and fellow with the Kansas Leadership Center, will serve as timekeeper.

Organizer Bert Patrick said he sought to create a nonpartisan forum that would inform voters before next month's election.

"I view this (abortion) question as an ethical question. I guess some might say it's a moral question. I view it as a medical question, and I view it as a social question," he said. "As a consequence, I invited (to the forum) two members of the clergy, two medical doctors and two persons who have been involved in providing services for women and children."

The Aug. 2 vote by Kansans will be the first on an abortion-related proposal in the country since the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established a constitutional right to abortion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.