Musicians Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, and Kevin Morby are using their voices to defend abortion rights in Kansas.
“There’s an amendment to the state constitution in the upcoming election that would put abortion rights at risk. We’re asking Kansas folks to vote no on this amendment in the August 2 election,” said the pair in a statement.
The “Value Them Both” amendment, if passed, would allow the Kansas legislature to completely ban abortion with no exceptions. Morby and Crutchfield hope their music can help spread the word and inspire other Kansas voters to vote no.
On July 21, the pair released two new covers to support Vote No Kansas, a PAC dedicated to preserving abortion rights.
The duo “record[s] covers on a 4-track at home from time to time” and two of those are available exclusively on their Bandcamp—Broadcasts’ “Tears in the Typing Pool” and Guided By Voices’ “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory.” All proceeds will go to Vote No Kansas.
“It’s vital that we have music to process and express what is going on around us and our reaction to it,” said Melinda Lavon, Chair of Vote No Kansas. But Lavon also underscored the importance of the August vote, saying it is our “only voice in the matter” and “if we fail in August, our constitution will be changed, and our rights quickly lost.”
Early reporting suggests the vote could be very close, according to polling conducted by Co/efficient with input by FiveThirtyEight. Of more than 1,500 Kansans surveyed, “47% said they planned to vote yes on the amendment, while 43% said they planned to vote no and 10% were undecided,” as reported in the Kansas City Star.
As for Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Kevin Morby, they’ll be bringing their “Weekly Rodeo”—their much-beloved Instagram Live—out of retirement to support the cause.
