A number of other organizations on both sides of the issue have separately campaigned and raised funds for the change.
After the Supreme Court decision, many more people suddenly became aware of the amendment, said Melinda Lavon, a midwife who helped organize a no-vote campaign, including text messages and events in rural areas. “People had a lot of emotions about it and they made good use of it.”
John Markert, who supports the amendment, said he was happy with the US Supreme Court ruling but wasn’t sure if it would help his side in the vote. Along the route where he cycles several times a week in Lenexa, another Kansas City suburb, more yard signs have appeared on both sides of the problem.
“It brought everything to the fore,” said Mr. Markert, who had retired from the mortgage industry and said his opposition to abortion was motivated in almost every case by his Christian faith. “If Roe vs Wade hadn’t been destroyed, I think the ‘vote yes'” would have had a better chance of winning. He added: “I don’t know if it is now.”
As Election Day approaches, the rhetoric has heated up. Campaign boards on both sides have been stolen or destroyed, police and organizers say. In the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, vandals attacked a Catholic church this month, painting buildings and a statue of Mary with red paint, an episode that police linked to the abortion debate.
In recent weeks, someone at Faith Baptist Church in Salina, Kansas, has broken down signs supporting the amendment twice, said a pastor, Jesse Rowland. A third sign has been placed in the cemetery.
“It’s more like trench warfare — everyone’s dug in on one side or the other,” Mr. Rowland said. “Nobody talks, really, from what I’ve observed.”