Reproductive Rights

Welcome to our new blog! Each month one or more of our members will write a blog entry about one of our guiding principles - the issues that are important to us.

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights, women's health, and bodily autonomy have been on the minds and lips of Kansans. So, this month we focus on reproductive rights - specifically the Kansas Women's Right to Know Act.

The Women's Right to Know Act was first passed in 1997 and has been amended several times since. In the early 2000s, a 22-week abortion ban was added. In 2007, Kansas was one of 23 states that required abortion patients to receive information (which are not scientifically supported) linking abortions to later breast cancer and other medical issues. In 2013, a fetal-heartbeat bill was introduced, but died in committee; the legislature tried again in 2014 to pass this measure and failed. Also in 2013, the legislature passed HB 2253 that states that life begins at fertilization and bans Planned Parenthood from providing sex education in schools. In 2015, the legislature passed a ban on dilation and evacuation procedures, a common second-semester abortion procedure (though the most common use for this procedure is to evacuate a fetus post-miscarriage); this was struck down by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2016.

In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed that the right to an abortion is inherent in the Kansas Constitution and Bill of Rights.

In 2020, the Kansas Senate passed a proposition to add the "Value them Both" amendment to the state constitution. This amendment would allow the state to pass laws regarding abortion.

As we all know, on August 2nd, 2022, Kansans voted down the Value them Both amendment, showing clearly that Kansans respect and value a women's right to choose her own healthcare and decisions regarding her own body.

Despite Kansans making it clear that we support a woman's right to make decisions for herself, conservatives continue to try to legislate women's bodies. The latest attempt involved amending the Women's Right to Know Act to require abortion providers to tell women that medication-induced abortion can be reversed. Even Fox News admits this claim is not based on science. In addition, the Women's Right to Know Act adds other requirements for women seeking an abortion, such as a mandatory ultrasound and a 30-minute waiting period following the ultrasound. It also requires a physician to listen for a fetal heartbeat and offer the patient to listen as well.

Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Great Plains, spoke about some of the unnecessary and bureaucratic hurdles that have been put in place for people seeking abortions. "The key thing is the 24 hour wait; there are pieces of the form that are outrageous and should make everybody roll their eyes. Those would include things like having something in the right font in the right color. If a patient comes in and says, 'Oh, my printer was out of black ink, so it printed automatically in blue, it defaulted to blue', that doesn't meet the statutory requirements. We're not going to be able to see you, you've got to get the form, again, which we'll supply here and wait another 24 hours." Rules like that do nothing to protect women; they simply make obtaining healthcare more difficult and more frustrating.

On June 6th, 2023, abortion providers across Kansas filed suit against a number of entities across Kansas including Kris Kobach, District Attorneys in Johnson and Sedgwick Counties, and others, stating that the restrictions listed in this post violate the right to reproductive healthcare as promised in the state constitution.

The future of abortion and reproductive rights in Kansas is uncertain. But one thing IS certain: we can and will continue to stand up for what is right. The right to choose is guaranteed in the Kansas Constitution, and we will not rest until that right is unassailable.