Abortion Is Literally on the Ballot in Kansas
OLATHE, Kansas—It’s 102 degrees, and the rally to save abortion rights has drawn a crowd of exactly one.
Cassie Woolworth, the head of a local Democratic women’s club, has commandeered as her base of operations a concrete barricade meant to deter would-be terrorists outside the Johnson County courthouse. She unfurls a banner that says Trust Women alongside an image of Rosie the Riveter and hangs it between a trash can and a street sign. In between spritzes of water from a spray fan, she lays out bumper stickers and yard signs urging voters to reject a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would allow the Republican-dominated legislature to ban abortion in Kansas.
Woolworth, a 57-year-old mother of three, devoted her life to politics after the 2016 election of Donald Trump. “Early voting is open now!” I heard her shout into a bullhorn every few minutes. Hardly anyone was around to listen. Support for her cause, however, showed up in other ways. Cars zooming by honked in appreciation, and when a few stopped next to her makeshift table, Woolworth carefully slid yard signs through the passenger window. Eventually, several people walked over to grab campaign gear, including a bride who emerged from her wedding inside the courthouse and left her nuptials carrying a yard sign. (A “no” vote would safeguard current abortion rights in Kansas.)
