A group of medical professionals from Kansas is encouraging support of the "Value Them Both" amendment in the interest of women's health and well-being.

“We believe it is time to truly stand for the health and right to information of women by supporting reasonable regulation of abortion through passage of the Value Them Both amendment,” the group said in a prepared statement.

The Value Them Both amendment would add to the Kansas Constitution, allowing elected lawmakers to pass laws related to abortion and would state that taxpayers do not have to fund abortions. The amendment will be on the ballot on Aug. 2.

The statement doesn’t give the group a name, but it does define the members as “medical and mental health professionals from Kansas.”

The medical professionals underscored the importance of protecting laws related to abortion that either have been or will be struck down due to a state Supreme Court ruling in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, including informed consent, safety standards for abortion clinics, parental notification and other measures to protect women's health. 

“As doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, psychologists and pharmacists, we stand united to care for the physical health and emotional well-being of patients in hospitals, clinics and private offices,” the statement said. “Without the Value Them Both amendment, Kansas faces the imminent danger of becoming an abortion destination state with unregulated facilities providing unlimited abortions.”

In Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, the Kansas Supreme Court determined that the Kansas Constitution protects a woman's right to undergo an abortion. The case involved two physicians who perform abortions through dilation and evacuation.

Dilation and evacuation is a method of abortion that is commonly used when a baby is between 14 and 24 weeks old. The woman's cervix is stretched with rods called dilators, and the baby is removed from the uterus with tools and suction. According to British Pregnancy Advisory Service, 1 in 800 dilation and evacuation procedures results in serious complications, such as remnants of the baby being left behind in the woman’s uterus or hemorrhaging. Some women experience less-severe complications, including infections, psychological problems, damage to the cervix, unpredictable bleeding, a punctured uterus or bladder damage, BPAS said. 

“We affirm the values of the vast majority of Kansans who understand the critical importance of protecting the lives of both mothers and preborn babies as well as the dangers posed by an unlimited abortion industry,” the medical professionals said in their statement. “We urge Kansans to vote ‘Yes’ on the Value Them Both amendment on Aug. 2 to prevent a broken state system that lacks laws and regulations for the protection of women’s health and well-being from the abortion industry.”