TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers insisted Thursday that their proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution be put to voters on the August 2022 primary ballot, leading to criticism that they fear it would fail if put to a broader swath of voters during that year's general election.

The issue of when voters would decide the measure's fate kept it from clearing the GOP-controlled Legislature last year with the necessary two-thirds majorities in both chambers. A few Republicans objected to anti-abortion groups' plan to have a vote in the August 2020 primary, preferring it be...