Kansas’ highest court struck down a second-trimester abortion ban and reaffirmed that the state’s constitution protects abortion access.
the Kansas Supreme Court struck down a Republican-backed abortion second-trimester ban and affirmed that the state’s constitution protects abortion access, with one justice dissenting.
In two separate decisions released on Friday, the court ruled, “The Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects a fundamental right to personal autonomy, which includes a pregnant person’s right to terminate a pregnancy.” The Court also ruled against several state licensing requirements for abortion providers.
The decisions blocked enforcement of a 2015 law supported by Republican legislators that banned the common second-trimester abortion procedure of dilation and evacuation. The Court found that S.B. 95, known as Unborn Protection from Dismemberment Act, violates the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and “impairs the right to abortion.”
Newsweek reached out to the Kansas Republican Party for comment via email Friday afternoon.
