After veto, Kansas guv slammed for 'allegiance to abortion'

Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed several bills during the current legislative session, including a bill related to adoptions and pro-life pregnancy centers.

Pavone: Worship at church means more pro-life stance Charlie Butts, AFN.net A survey of Catholics about abortion suggests more should be worshipping God rather than their own opinions, says a pro-life leader. A Pew Research Center study found 60% of Catholics think abortion should be legal while a McLaughlin Associates study put that at 48%. Pavone Frank Pavone, of Priests for Life, tells AFN he believes the attitude of people in the pews really depends how often they sit on a pew. “Because the more you go to church, the more you worship,” Pavone says. “That's the opposite mind set of pro-choice.  Pro-choice says it's up to me. Worship says it's up to God.” The survey’s findings, he tells AFN, also suggest church pastors are running away from the abortion issue when they preach which affects the congregation. Finally, Pavone says, Christians need to understand what happens to an unborn child during an abortion.

Jeanne Gawdun, of Kansans for Life, says the Adoption Savings Account Act would help Kansas families that want to set aside funds for adopting a child, an expensive process that costs approximately $35,000. The vetoed adoption bill also creates a tax credit for businesses and individuals that donate to pro-life pregnancy centers. Those centers, which are typically non-profits, provide everything from ultrasounds to diapers for pregnant mothers but are despised and hated by abortion supporters.

“I do not believe it is appropriate to divert taxpayer dollars to largely unregulated crisis pregnancy centers,” Gov. Kelly said in a statement. “These entities are not medical centers and do not promote evidence-based methods to prevent unplanned pregnancies.”

Gawdun says Kelly’s veto is more evidence to Kansans their governor is a “left wing” leader in a pro-life state.

“She is not middle of the road as she claims,” Gawdun says, “because Kansans support and want women to have alternatives to abortion.”

After the veto, House Speaker Dan Hawkins said in a statement Gov. Kelly vetoed the legislation because of her “uncompromising allegiance to abortion.”

Kelly, a former state senator, was first elected governor in 2018. She was narrowly re-elected to a second term as governor in 2022.