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Princeton sociologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmonds latest book, the New York Times best-seller Poverty, By America, explores why poverty is so prevalentand persistentin the richest nation on Earth. We spoke about his excellent book not long ago, but with the House Republicans demanding new work requirements for Medicaid and food-stamp recipients in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, I figured Desmond would have some thoughts.

Theres certainly little evidence that work requirements achieve their goalthat is, if the goal is to improve peoples lives. But this is a charitable view of Republican intent. If their goal is to push needy people off the rolls, then sure. And if the goal is to reduce the deficitand the debt-ceiling bill has a bunch of provisions that would do the oppositethere are ways to do it that dont target and scapegoat Americas most vulnerable. I reached out to Desmond to talk about these things and more. As always, ourchat has been edited for length and clarity.

What was your first thought when you heard the Republicans were seeking to impose new work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid?

That it doesnt have anything to do with work. When Arkansas imposed work requirements on Medicaid in 2018, I believe 18,000 people lost their health insurance and the state did not witness any growth in employment. Work requirements are not about work; theyre about a commitment by the modern Republican Party to harm the poor, really. Its hard to say it any other way. If were going to balance the budget and tackle the deficit, why is it always the poor who have to pay that price, especially given all the tax avoidance and shenanigans that we experience today?

As the public sees it, there are three questions. First, are work requirements reasonable? Second, whats the goal? And third, does the policy achieve the goal? To get food stamps now, so-called able-bodied adults under 50, without young children, have to spend 20 hours a week doing paid or unpaid work or work training. If you presented that to the average person on the street, they might say, That sounds pretty reasonable. But what does it look like for the people in need of aid?

So many of of the aid recipients are working already, and many are working in ways that arent recognized as work. One of the things that is completely baffling and frustrating to me is how we ignore the caretaking work of raising kids and also caring for the old, and render that work invisible with respect to these requirements.

I would love a public conversation about the incentives to work. You know, often these low-wage jobs are grueling and you have no power and your pay hasnt gone up in years. These conversations seem just out of touch with the everyday experiences of folks in jobs like that.

What do you know about these work training programs?

I havent studied them. I do think theres an idea among some policymakers that if we just had the right credentials, or right education, people could achieve some financial stability. I think the research is in on that: One-third of Americans who have a college degree earn less than the median income. In the United States, weve had incredible growth and educational attainment at the secondary and post-secondary levelsover the last 40 years, and yet poverty has really persisted. To me its not about credentialing or job training, its really about the imbalance of power in the labor market.

Work requirement policies are often sold as a way to push people to improve their lot and make themselves more self-sufficient. Do you think thats one of the actual goals?

No, because we have so many people working already that would be affected. I think the idea of work requirements rests on the image of a layabouta person who isnt working pulling a checkand that just isnt supported by the data. Brookings had a study [that looked at] how many people can be considered non-working poor, disconnected from the labor market for reasons we dont understand? They found it was like 3 percent of folks.

And so part of what this policy proposal does is continue this myth of poverty being connected to non-work, where today there are so many people working and still mired in poverty.

Matt Gaetz used the term couch potatoes to describe certain aid recipients. Its kind of like the welfare queens of the Reagan era.

Yeah, here we are, againsame old story.

I was just reading about how the term able-bodied, which we hear a lot in these debates, has quite a history.

Isnt it in the poor laws of England?

Yes, exactly. And it was rooted in the church and meant to carry moral weight. And its still around. I mean, you write about the dehumanizing aspects of poverty. Over the years, this kind of rhetoric has advanced certain cultural narratives about the poor. From your experience, how do you view those narratives?

When you talk to folks in violence reduction programs or reentry programs who have experienced hardship and are trying to make a change, its often really hard to connect them with jobs. Theres this idea that theres just a bunch of jobs out there that people who grew up in incredibly difficult circumstances could just step into if they wanted. And that seems really out of touch with the lived experience of poverty. The broader point my book is trying to make is that this moral division between the working and non-workingmakers and takers is the Republican phraseis not the moral line thats most salient to this debate. First, were all kind of takers, right? We all benefit from government programs in one way or another, even if we dont recognize it. But more importantly, I feel like the moral bright line should be between the exploiters and the exploitedor as Orwell put it, the robbers and the robbed.

I can only imagine work requirements are especially hard for people with a felony on their record.

Yeah, there is a lot of data on how a felony record, especially when it compounds with racial discrimination in the job market, can really be an impediment. I just wonder whether any of the folks pushing these policies have real relationships with constituents who are in povertyif they know them, if theyre in touch with their lives and their struggles. Because if they did, they couldnt in good faith be asking our poor families to pay the price of the debt-ceiling debates.

If we wanted to get serious about reducing the deficit, we could insist on tax fairness. What did the IRS chair say: Were losing $1 trillion a year in tax avoidance and evasion? And so this seems like such a distraction. If the deficit concern is driving it, there is a clear solution that is not being pursued. I think thats incredibly tellingand frankly, cruel.

Right. We dont ask able-bodied rich people to work in exchange for their tax breakswhich are far more generous than aid for the poor.

Thats much better than I could have put it. Its also, I feel like we dont devalue the importance of work when we make a claim that no one in America should fall below a certain level. Were talking about food and healthcare here! Medicaid and food stamps. There shouldnt be any qualifications to meeting basic necessities in this land of dollars.

Ive spent a lot of time in poor communities and this myth of the couch potatoIve not met that person. Ive spent time with folks who are on disability and out of the workforce. And Ive spent a ton of time with folks who are working like crazy but arent shown to be working on official documents because theyre working under the table. Theyre working for cash and working in places that dont take your Social Security number.

The Republican Party decries the bureaucratic state and how burdensome it is, and regulations and all thatbut work and training requirements create a huge bureaucracy that enriches private contractors while subjecting people who already have a lot on their plate to mountains of paperwork.

Thats right. And we see this in the data. If we had a country of welfare dependency, why do we see over $140 billion in unused aid left on the table every year by families that are disconnected from programs that they need and deserve? Why do most elderly Americans who qualify for food stamps pass on them, one in five workers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit not claim itthis isnt a picture of welfare dependency, this is a picture of bureaucracy and red tape and administrative burden. No one is asking me to get photographed and fingerprinted to take my mortgage-interest deduction.

Michael Harrington had this phrase in The Other America: socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor. I feel its like, the deregulation of the rich and regulation of the poor. These administrative burdens are pushed down on families that have the least resources.

Right. And I gather there is evidence that when you make a benefits process more onerous, people drop off the rolls. And perhaps thats the goal.

Yeah. A reasonable counter-explanation would be solid evidence that work requirements lead to increases in employment and do not result in people losing their benefits. But the way I read the evidence, work requirements lead to people losing their benefits and have a very mixed record on increasing employment.

The modern welfare state is tilted toward the employed. The work of Robert Moffitt, a great economist at Johns Hopkins, shows that our poorest families today get less than they did 30 years ago, but the families right around the poverty line and above it get a lot more because weve embraced this employment-based welfare state. But the way people talk, you would assume that we havent been undergoing this process for the past 30 years.

Another notable aspect of these programs is that theyre very paternalisticshaming, even. I mean, you cant use food stamps for certain itemsnot just tobacco and alcohol, but also toiletries and pet food and dietary supplements. Yet we dont tell well-to-do takers how to spend their money.

I remember listening to an interview where a conservative guest was saying, I dont want my tax dollars going into gambling and alcohol, or something like that. [Economist Thorstein] Veblen wrote about the forced continence of the poorthat often they just cant afford alcohol because of poverty. If you look at the data today, theres a lot more drinking with the upper classes than with poor folks. But again, no ones asking me if my tax breaks are used to buy alcohol or cigarettes or a trip to Vegas, right?

Correction: The study on the situations of people living in poverty came from Brookings, not the Urban Institute. The figure for impoverished people who werent working for reasons unknown was 3 percent, not 2 percent as originally stated.

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House Republicans' Work Requirements Are Not About Work ... - Mother Jones

House Republicans frustrations with the Biden administrations education policies and embrace of the culture wars over education were on full display Tuesday when Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

What color is your suit? asked Michigan representative Lisa McClain, a Republican, during a heated exchange. Im just trying to figure out if we can answer a question.

The nearly five-hour hearing, which became contentious at times, featured questions, talking points and discussion about a wide range of higher educationrelated topics from the administrations budget proposal to the influence of the Chinese government on American universities to student loan policies.

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This was Cardonas first appearance before the committee since Republicans took over the House.

Cardona repeatedly defended his departments work to improve the student loan system and help students recover from the pandemic, among other issues, echoing his press statements and comments at recent budget committee meetings. He also tried to steer clear of debates about culture war topics.

The choice we face now is whether were going to build on the common ground that we have to invest in our children or protect the broken status quo thats failed too many of our schools, Cardona said in his opening remarks. Now is not the time to break down in partisan or divisive culture wars.

North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx, the Republican who chairs the committee, outlined a series of concerns about the departments actions under President Biden in her opening remarks.

Mr. Secretary, I wish this hearing was an endorsement of your departments cooperation with our requests, so we could then proceed in good faith to the FY 2024 budget request, she said. Instead, your department has engaged in disingenuous and misleading actions while being minimally responsive to congressional oversight.

Virginia representative Bobby Scott, the committees ranking Democrat, and other Democrats used their time to show support for student loan forgiveness and other policies as well as to detail how the budget cuts proposed in the House debt-ceiling bill would affect the department and students.

Scott credited Cardona with helping to restore the departments commitment to supporting students and educators.

These investments would be transformational for our education system, Scott said of the departments budget proposal. Regrettably, my Republican colleagues have chosen to use their time in the majority to pursue policies that harm students and roll back the clock on our progress.

Foxx and other committee members voiced frustration repeatedly over the departments pace in responding to oversight and data requests.

Foxx said the department has largely ignored requests for documents and not yet responded to some of the committees 11 oversight letters. When the agency did respond, she said the responses were minimal and nearly all were late.

We will continue to press for the answers to the questions that were asking and the information that well need, she said.

Near the end of the hearing, after Foxx asked for a clear commitment to respond to the oversight letters, Cardona said the department will respond to letters and provide the information we can provide to you in good faith.

As the hearing progressed, Republicans increasingly criticized Cardona for what they said was dodging their questions as they grew more annoyed with the secretarys answers.

Ive been listening to you evade yes-or-no questions all day, said Representative Kevin Kiley, a California Republican.

Cardona defended his departments work in responding to oversight and Freedom of Information Act requests.

We provided over 2,400 pages of documents in this Congress alone, Cardona said. Weve responded to 45 letters this Congress alone. Were going to continue to take that very seriously.

Foxx questioned Cardona on whether the department was prepared to restart student loan payments and whether he would commit to no further extensions of the payment pause. Foxx asked the department last month for more details on its plan.

After the Supreme Court decision is made, we plan to start payments within 60days, he said, reiterating a commitment he made at a Senate budget hearing last week.

Democrats on the committee said they were concerned about the impact of resuming payments after a three-year pause and asked if the agency had the resources to pull off the operation.

Were geared up and ready to go, Cardona said.

However, if the administrations budget proposal is not supported, that would significantly impact the departments ability to serve borrowers, he said.

We look forward to making sure that you have the resources that you need, Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, said.

Throughout the hearing, Cardona repeatedly defended the departments student loan policies, including proposed reforms to the income-driven repayment program, which offers borrowers more generous terms to help them pay back their loans.

Income-driven repayment is going to open access to college for many more students, Cardona said. The goal is for them to pay their debt based on their income. As their income increases, their debt payment increases. Ive seen too many studentsintelligent students, students who have tremendous potentialrule out college because of fear of the cost Imagine the talent in this country thats going untapped.

Not all committee members liked Cardonas explanations.

You are implying that if you didnt go to college, your ability is untapped, Wisconsin representative Glenn Grothman, a Republican, said. I think thats a little bit snobby.

Cardona replied that some of his best and most influential teachers never went to college.

Kentucky representative James Comer, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, asked for more information about the departments enforcement of Section117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which requires colleges and universities to, twice a year, disclose all foreign gifts and contracts totaling $250,000 or more. Comer and others said they were concerned about the influence of the Chinese government on American universities and worried that the department was backtracking on efforts to require colleges to report the foreign gifts and contracts.

Cardona said the administration is improving the system for reporting and on track to make more filings public.

Weve got a problem with our universities, Comer said. According to multiple university presidents Ive spoken with, we have Chinese students that are stealing our intellectual property. They are essentially serving as spies for the Chinese Communist Party. We have certain universities that are receiving enormous anonymous gifts from the Chinese government. This is a concern for the House Oversight Committee.

Republicans also repeatedly criticized the proposed rule amending the TitleIX of the Education Amendments of 1972 regulations to prohibit blanket bans on transgender students participating in sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

We should be focusing on what the American people are asking us for, Cardona said. They are not asking for divisive comments. They are asking us to work together. Student safety is a primary one. Making sure that students are accepted in schools and acknowledged for who they are is critically important.

Some Democrats on the committee asked Cardona for more information about the departments plans to oversee the online program managersthe outside companies that colleges and universities contract with to run their online offerings. Several committee members have criticized the outside companies and want the department to do more to hold them accountable.

Cardona said that theres an increased demand for flexibility in higher education, but the department wants to ensure greater oversight as well.

So that it doesnt result in what weve experienced with borrower defense and having almost $14billion in loans discharged because students were taken advantage of by certain online, predatory practices, he said.

Florida representative Aaron Bean, a Republican, said that proprietary schools are under attack by the department and asked Cardona, Why are you at war with proprietary colleges?

I dont think were at war, Cardona said. Were fixing a broken system.

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House Republicans clash with Cardona over student loans, other ... - Inside Higher Ed

Opinion: It is both amazing and at times downright depressing what the Republican Legislature has accomplished this year. This, with the barest of majorities and a Democratic governor.

As the Arizona Legislature takes yet another vacation, let us pause to consider the many accomplishments of the Republicans who run the joint.

No, really.

Theres been a fair amount of focus on the 72 (and counting) times Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has infuriated Republicans by vetoing their various bad bills and a few good ones.

But consider what this, the most conservative Republican Legislature in my memory, has been able to accomplish with the barest of majorities and a Democrat on the Ninth Floor for the first time in 14 years.

Everybody (OK, well, me) expected the far-right Republicans who comprise the Arizona Freedom Caucus to be rolled over as the year wore on and sanity prevailed sometime in the wee hours of late June, right before a state government shutdown.

Everybody (OK, me again) expected the partys more pragmatic Republicans to team up with Hobbs and the Democrats to make a deal, as happened last year when Republican Gov. Doug Ducey was at the helm.

Instead, Republicans have stuck together all year, making Democratic legislators look largely irrelevant and on occasion, downright silly. (See: the tamale bill wherein 12 Democrats enthusiastically voted for the bill before they suddenly voted against it to spare Hobbs the embarrassment of a veto override.)

Consider the culture war bills. Not surprisingly, Republicans have spent endless hours doing battle with drag queens and transgender children and public school teachers who they apparently believe lay awake nights plotting to groom their children.

None of their bills will become law, thanks to Hobbs and her veto stamp. But thats almost better for Republican lawmakers as they prepare to hit the trail next year to try to preserve their slim majority.

The campaign pitch writes itself.

Consider teacher pay. Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, has been pushing a bill that would boost teacher pay by $10,000 over the next two years, catapulting Arizonas public schools out of the subbasement and onto the upper floors of teacher compensation in America.

Democrats oppose the bill, saying its a poorly written proposal that contains no guarantee of funding beyond 2025 and could lead to layoffs. Besides, they say, it wouldnt apply to other educators and school staff.

Democrats have pointed to some legitimate problems with this bill, especially the need for flexibility in the event of a downturn in the economy. But theyve also declined thus far to work with Gress to address those problems.

This, as Arizona continues to face a critical shortage of qualified classroom teachers.

Consider the budget. Hobbs negotiated a $17.8 billion spending plan with Republican legislative leaders, leaving her Democratic allies on the outside looking in.

I know not everyone got what they wanted, including me, Hobbs said on Monday, during a press conference to highlight a $150 million deposit into the Housing Trust Fund, an amount more than double the previous largest contribution.

Actually, it appears Republicans got exactly what they wanted.

Their No. 1 priority was to protect their universal voucher program from a governor who had vowed to repeal it, warning that it would likely bankrupt the state.

They didnt even have to accept so much as a minuscule cap to the program that was supposed to cost $33 million year and is now at 10 times that and growing.

Instead, Hobbs stunned her fellow Democrats and public school supporters by agreeing to continue the runaway program.

How money talks: Hobbs, Ducey got bipartisan budget deals differently

She also caved on her campaign vows to exempt diapers and feminine hygiene products from the state sales tax and to offer an annual $100-per-child tax credit to low-income Arizonans.

Hobbs did win a huge pot of mostly one-time money to boost public schools and a sizable budget to help with affordable housing and the homeless.

Meanwhile, Republicans not only protected their constituents who want public money to pay their kids private school tuition, they won a one-time $250-per-child tax rebate for Arizona families (maximum $750 per family), a plan spearheaded by the Freedom Caucus.

They even managed to attach language to the budget that prevents Hobbs from trying to take any credit for the tax rebate.

To wit: No letter relating to the Arizona families tax rebate issued under this section shall be sent from the governors office, be sent on the governors letterhead or reference the governors office.Freedom Caucusers were all smiles on Monday and for good reason.

While Hobbs tax credit for the poor wilted and died, their tax credit for the non-poor funded solely with Republicans share of the budget surplus is now law, with a promise of more to come next year from Freedom Caucus Chair Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek.

Arizona families are hurting while they attempt to pay for the most basic necessities each month , he said on Monday, during a press conference to highlight the $260 million tax rebate. In the meantime, government is flush with cash and in the position to give back to our honest, hardworking taxpayers.

The money wont reach the neediest Arizonans, the ones who dont earn enough to pay taxes.

Or to taxpayers who wipe out their state tax liability by making charitable contributions that qualify for a tax credit.

But itll be an effective bullet on Republicans reelection brochures, as will the substantial slab of bacon they delivered to their districts in the form of road and bridge projects.

All this, they got without having to agree to allow Maricopa Countys transportation tax to be put to a public vote next year.

And without Hoffman and his fellow Republican senators having to agree to stop gumming up the works as Hobbs tries to fill out her Cabinet.

Certainly, both sides got something out of the budget.

But theres a reason Hoffman, one of the Legislatures most conservative members, signed on as a primary sponsor of this years budget bills.

Reach Roberts atlaurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at@LaurieRoberts.

Support local journalism:Subscribe to azcentral.comtoday.

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Arizona Republicans have gotten most of what they wanted this year - The Arizona Republic

In late April, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, a Republican New Hampshire state representative, was one of dozens of elected officials whose endorsements former President Donald Trump announced at a packed rally in Manchester.

On Tuesday, officials at Never Back Down, the super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said Harvey-Bolia is throwing her support to their guy. She is one of four New Hampshire legislators the others are Reps. Brian Cole, Lisa Smart and Debra DiSimone whom Never Back Down identified as flipping from Trump to DeSantis as it rolled out endorsements from 51 lawmakers in the state who signed a pledge to back DeSantis.

But thats not how Harvey-Bolia sees it.

Im endorsing both, she said in a telephone interview. DeSantis has a lot of promise for the future, and Trump is great now.

Smart, one of the other three legislators, said Tuesday that she remains with Trump dropping DeSantis' total to 50 state lawmakers.

"I was so incredibly proud to join many of my colleagues in endorsing President Donald J. Trump last month and my support for him has not changed," Smart said in a statement provided to NBC News by the Trump campaign. "I'm dismayed by the games being played by Never Back Down and I will NOT be participating in any activities with Ron DeSantis."

The unusual dual endorsement and Smart's reiteration of her support for Trump added intriguing twists to DeSantis' efforts to show momentum as he nears making his bid official. Last week, his super PAC revealed endorsements from 37 Iowa legislators just before he launched a three-city tour of the state.

And NBC News confirmed Tuesday that he has summoned his top donors to meetings in Miami on May 25 in conjunction with his expected campaign launch.

DeSantis team expects more than 100 donors and other supporters to attend a briefing with him and his senior team, said a person familiar with the plans.

But the drama surrounding Harvey-Bolia and Smart also points to an intense behind-the-scenes battle for endorsements and the immense pressure on lawmakers to avoid making an enemy in the eventual nominee as Trump and DeSantis jockey for position. The two other New Hampshire Republicans who endorsed Trump in April and DeSantis on Tuesday didnt return calls seeking comment.

Smart did not reply to NBC News' request for comment Monday on her apparent backing for DeSantis, or phone and text messages sent Tuesday about her decision to restate her support for Trump. But Never Back Down shared her pledge to support DeSantis, which was signed on May 9.

Still, DeSantis allies say theres excitement for him in the early-voting states and those that hold primaries later on next years calendar. Iowa and New Hampshire are of outsize importance in the Republican nominating fight because their caucuses and primary are the first two contests.

I think you get a sense from what you saw in Iowa over the weekend that those legislative endorsements are indicative of what were seeing and feeling on the ground, said a Never Back Down strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss political machinations. And I think what youre seeing and feeling on the ground in New Hampshire is going to be very similar.

DeSantis, whose poll numbers have flatlined in recent months, has an uphill battle to supplant Trump, the two-time GOP nominee, as the partys standard-bearer. In the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Trump stands at 55% and DeSantis at 21%. Public surveys of Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire voters show Trump in the lead in each state.

DeSantis allies say the endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire are just the beginning of their effort to close the gap and win the nomination.

This is about building a movement, the Never Back Down strategist said. This is about building an organization to win. And so this is just one step in the process. Its not the end game.

Dasha Burns is a correspondent for NBC News.

Jonathan Allen is asenior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.

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2 Republicans on DeSantis' endorsement list say they back Trump - NBC News

TOPEKA Torn between his Catholic faith and commitment to public service, Rep. Henry Helgerson struggled to keep his composure as he spoke to colleagues from the House floor near the end of this years legislative session.

The Eastborough Democrat referenced an avalanche of anti-abortion legislation produced by Republicans in defiance of voters who rejected a constitutional amendment on abortion in August.

The Legislature was debating House Bill 2060, which addresses the states shortage of gynecologists by offering tuition assistance to medical students. The program is not available to anyone who receives training to perform abortions.

Fighting back tears, Helgerson talked about his role three decades ago in helping pass legislation that bans abortion at state-funded facilities. But he couldnt understand why the state would prohibit health care professionals from being trained to provide a legal service.

That crosses a whole different line, he said. I believe that if the voters have made a decision to allow abortion in this state, I want the doctors to have the best training. To prohibit them from having that is not in anyones best health interests.

I walk a real close line because I am torn on this issue. I am torn because, raised Catholic, go to church on a regular basis, but I still have everything that you all have, those feelings. But the state and our obligation is different than my religious obligation. And today, the last few days, we have crossed the line where my religious beliefs, or other peoples religious beliefs, suddenly takes over what the state policy is.

Kansas Reflector is examining the influence of religious beliefs on state government through a series of stories.

Despite the 59-41 margin in a statewide vote on the constitutional amendment last year, Republican lawmakers passed new anti-abortion laws. Abortion providers will have to tell patients the abortion pill can be reversed, a dangerous proposition based on junk research. Doctors will continue to provide medical care for infants who are born alive, thanks to legislation designed to promote a false narrative that failed abortions are performed on infants who are capable of surviving. And abortion providers would not have been able to obtain liability insurance through the state Health Care Stabilization Fund, even though they are required to contribute to it, but the Senate fell just short of the votes needed to override Gov. Laura Kellys veto.

Additionally, the Legislature allocated tax dollars to support pregnancy crisis centers, which actively discourage women from seeking abortions.

We are moral people, said Rep. Ron Bryce, a Republican physician from Coffeyville who claimed he personally provided aid to 27 babies who survived an abortion. We provide care for those who are weak, for those who are disadvantaged, for those who are innocent and powerless.

Abortion has dominated Kansas politics for decades, but attention to the issue was heightened last year by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Kansas voters rejection of the proposed constitutional amendment.

In March, supporters of access to reproductive health care gathered en masse to celebrate bodily autonomy and protest anti-abortion legislation. At other times throughout the session, Kevan Myers, of Kansas City, Kansas, and Clifton Boje, of Bonner Springs, picketed the third floor railing with large anti-abortion signs. They are leaders of an abortion abolitionist ministry based in St. George.

One sign read: We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ pleading from God a message of reconciliation.

Another: The laws against murder should be applied equally to all people.

Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and senior minister at First Congregational Church, said in an interview for this series that he talked to a Republican leader, who I shall leave unnamed, who said to me: We dont really care about all this stuff, Tobias. We just bring all these abortion bills because we need to let the people who support us know that were carrying water for them despite the referendum last summer.

The attack on abortion rights in Kansas preserves the status quo.

Since the Summer of Mercy in 1991, powerful faith-based lobbying forces have influenced elections and established barriers to reproductive health care. Under Kansas law, a woman who seeks an abortion will be given state-mandated propaganda designed to change her mind. She will then have to look at an ultrasound image, wait 24 hours and pay for the procedure out of her own pocket.

State law prohibits abortion after 22 weeks, except to save the life of a mother.

In 2009, Scott Roeder, a member of a militant Christian Patriot group, gunned down physician George Tiller in his Wichita church. Tillers clinic had been bombed in 1986, and he had survived a 1993 shooting.

The Kansas Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in 2019 that determined the state constitutions right to bodily autonomy extends to the decision to terminate a pregnancy. The ruling, which was a response to state law that banned a procedure used in 95% of second-trimester abortions, ensuredabortion rights would be preserved in Kansas after the U.S. Supreme Court removed federal protections last June.

The Catholic Church, Kansans for Life, Family Policy Alliance and others funneled millions of dollars into a campaign to overturn the Kansas Supreme Courts decision through a constitutional amendment. Secret audio obtained by Kansas Reflector revealed that state lawmakers planned to ban abortion without exception if the amendment passed.

But six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Kansas voters jolted the political establishment by rejecting the amendment in an unexpected landslide.

In an email to supporters a day after the election, Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, said it was his fervent hope that more than a half-million Kansans who voted against the amendment were simply misled by campaign ads and a complicit media. The alternatives, he said, were disturbing and unthinkable.

Thompson wondered if Kansans were really OK with infants being torn apart, limb from limb, or the prospects of Kansas becoming an even bigger destination site for abortion tourism. He listed other possible explanations for the popular vote that involved false narratives about abortion clinics.

I know that some are absolutely satisfied with the end result and are likely celebrating today, Thompson wrote in his email blast. I hope and pray that someday they realize the devastation they have left behind.

May God have mercy on Kansas. We will need to reprove to Him, somehow, that we deserve His grace.

Correction: This story has been updated to note the Senate failed to override the governors veto on a law banning access to liability insurance.

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Church and state: Kansas Republicans ignore voters and pass new ... - Kansas Reflector