The Kansas Supreme Court delivered a significant blow to the Republican party’s efforts to impose a second-trimester ban on abortions, by ruling against the ban on Friday. The court further reinforced the idea that the state constitution of Kansas safeguards the right to access safe abortion procedures. While the majority of the justices voted in favor of the decision, one justice did not agree with the verdict.
On Friday, the court made two distinct rulings. It stated that the fundamental right to personal autonomy, which includes the right to terminate a pregnancy, is safeguarded by the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. Additionally, the court ruled against various licensing prerequisites for abortion providers imposed by the state.
In a move that has been viewed as a victory for reproductive rights, the decisions made by the Court have effectively prevented the enforcement of a 2015 law that was backed by Republican legislators. The law in question, titled Unborn Protection from Dismemberment Act or S.B. 95, aimed to prohibit the dilation and evacuation procedure that is commonly used during second-trimester abortions. The Court’s ruling found that the law violates the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, and further added that it undermines the right to abortion.
On Friday afternoon, the Kansas Republican Party was contacted by Newsweek for comment through email. Additionally, Newsweek also reached out to the Party’s chair, Mike Brown, via text message.
For years, Kansas has been a consistently conservative state. However, in recent times, it has been at the forefront of the national abortion discourse. Following the U.S Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs case, which stripped the country of its federal right to abortion, Kansans rejected an amendment aimed at removing abortion protections from the state constitution in August 2022. This was the first instance of such a vote in the United States since Dobbs. The majority cited the 2022 vote in their verdict, affirming that “The people expressed their views through their votes.”
Advocates for abortion care have expressed their support for recent decisions made regarding abortion laws. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which filed one of the cases on behalf of an abortion care provider, is among those applauding the ruling. Nancy Northup, the President and CEO of CRR, referred to the decision as an “immense victory for the health, safety, and dignity of people in Kansas and the entire Midwestern region, where millions have been cut off from abortion access.”
According to a report by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, there has been a 57% increase in the number of abortions provided in Kansas in 2022. What’s more, the report revealed that over two-thirds of the patients came from out of state. This trend is indicative of individuals seeking medical services in Kansas due to more restrictive abortion laws in their home states.
Out-of-state patients have contributed significantly to the increase in abortions in Kansas since the overturning of the landmark case, Roe v. Wade. This surge is believed to be mainly due to neighboring states such as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas, which have stricter abortion policies compared to Kansas.
According to a report released last month by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for abortion rights, Kansas is projected to witness a 50 percent rise in the number of abortion clinics from 2020 to 2023.
