Kansas abortion providers challenge in court 24-hour waiting period, other requirements
Kansas abortion providers are challenging strict state requirements mandating providers share medically inaccurate or unproven information with patients considering an abortion and that patients undergo a waiting period before their procedure.
The lawsuit filed Monday against several state officials in Johnson County District Court challenges long-standing rules governing counseling for abortion patients, as well as a new law requiring medication abortion patients be told the procedure is “reversible” if they have taken only the first pill in the regimen.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains, Hodes and Nauser Women’s Health and the Center for Reproductive Rights argue that the law, titled the Women’s Right to Know Act by the GOP-controlled Legislature, violates the right to an abortion in Kansas’ constitution, as well as rights to free speech and equal protection.
“Make no mistake: these laws are designed to shame and stigmatize people as part of a broader effort to make abortion inaccessible,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a news release. “We will not stand by as Kansans’ rights continue to be undermined — especially after they made their support for abortion access resoundingly clear last summer.”
The providers are asking the court to block the enforcement of the full policy, which requires physicians to meet with a patient and provide detailed information to patients about their pregnancy 24 hours before the procedure. The law also requires physicians to listen to the fetus’ heartbeat 30 minutes prior to an abortion. The policy requires providers to, without evidence, post information in their clinics and websites that abortions could increase their risk of breast cancer and premature birth in future pregnancies.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the first defendant named in the suit, did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment.
Anti-abortion and politicians contend that the law ensures women have access to all the information they need as they consider whether to have an abortion and grants them time to carefully consider the choice.
“This legislation ensures that women in this situation are provided with all medical information and it’s appalling that Planned Parenthood would attempt to block this information to satisfy their donor base,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said in a statement.
Danielle Underwood, a spokeswoman for Kansans for Life, called the lawsuit “an unprecedented attack on a woman’s right to informed consent before an abortion is performed on her.”
Portions of the law, such as the waiting period, date back to 1997 when it was passed under former Republican Gov. Bill Graves. A majority of the additions to the law were made under former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, a staunch opponent of abortion. While providers have long opposed the law on the grounds it requires them to share one sided, medically unnecessary and untrue information with patients, this is the first time they have challenged its legality in court.
The Legislature added the abortion pill reversal notice requirement this year over a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The policy was one of a handful of anti-abortion measures pushed by Republicans in the months following an overwhelming vote to retain the right to abortion in the state constitution last year.
Though the overall law has been on the books for years Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said this year’s pill “reversal” measure lent urgency.
Additionally, she said, the 24-hour waiting period and strict requirements on how that information is delivered has become increasingly challenging for patients traveling long distances. If patients do not print the form in the correct font or color, Wales said, the clinic has to turn them away for 24 hours.
“All it’s designed to do is to prevent you from accessing care in a timely fashion,” she said.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Kansas became a major access point for abortion in the Great Plains as strict bans on the procedure went into effect in neighboring Missouri and Oklahoma.
The Kansas state constitution blocks any restriction on abortion access unless the law clears an extremely high legal bar. The state Supreme Court is currently reviewing challenges to extensive health and safety requirements for clinics and a ban on abortion via telemedicine.
This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 1:20 PM.
