Kansas abortion providers challenging restrictive state laws in court

TOPEKA (KSNT) — An ongoing fight over controversial abortion laws in Kansas is headed to a state court.

Abortion providers are suing the state over the “Women’s Right to Know Act.” This law, passed back in 2023, places a number of requirements and mandates on abortion providers and patients here in Kansas.

Some of these requirements include:

• Abortion providers must perform an ultrasound, and share the results with the patient
• Minors must receive parental consent before procedure
• Patient must receive state prepared material outlining risks of abortion at least 24 hours before scheduled procedure

In October of 2023, a state judge placed a temporary block on these requirements, but now the court is meeting again to make a final ruling on the case.

Those in support of the law say, it gives women the opportunity to know more about what they’re getting into before receiving an abortion.

However, after the passing of the law, several abortion providers sued the state, claiming the laws are meant to discourage women from getting an abortion.

Additionally, they believe the law requires the state to provide information to women that is not accurate. Specifically, the law requires patients to review state prepared material including an informational publication.

Health professionals contend that some information in this is not medically accurate. Specifically, the claim that patients can take an “abortion pill reversal.”

We spoke with Alice Wang, an Attorney representing abortion providers. She believes, the Kansas legislature is not acting in the interest of voters.

“I think that the most powerful message comes from the Kansas voters,” Wang said. “They have resoundingly rejected the legislatures attempts to take away the rights to abortion, and yet the legislature continues to waste resources on passing medically unnecessary restrictions that interferes with care.”

The first part of the trial takes place on Sep. 26th-30th, and the second half of the trial will wrap up on Oct. 17th. We will continue to follow this developing story.

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