Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

Center for Reproductive Rights Sues to Block Ban on Telemedicine Abortions in Kansas

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion, Legal Restrictions

Regions:

United States

Work:

In the Courts

Type:

News, Press Releases

Case Archive

For updates on Center cases, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

11.08.2018

In the Courts Abortion United States News

Center for Reproductive Rights Sues to Block Ban on Telemedicine Abortions in Kansas

Justin Goldberg

Share this Story

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id
Center for Reproductive Rights Sues to Block Ban on Telemedicine Abortions in Kansas
With only four abortion clinics in Kansas, telemedicine is crucial to abortion access

(PRESS RELEASE) Today, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging section 6 of the Kansas Telemedicine Act (House Bill 2028) which seeks to ban abortions administered through telemedicine, including medication abortion. The bill, which was signed into law on May 12, 2018, is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2019.



The challenge was brought on behalf of Trust Women Wichita, a licensed ambulatory surgical center that has been providing safe, high-quality reproductive health care in Kansas since 2013. Telemedicine has allowed facilities like Trust Women to expand access to services. Before introducing telemedicine at their Wichita clinic, Trust Women was only able to provide abortion care two days a week: they are now able to offer medication abortion services on additional weekdays and on Saturdays.



If the Kansas Telemedicine Abortion Ban goes into effect, doctors would be required to be physically present when a woman takes medication to end her pregnancy, forcing many women to travel long distances for a simple medication abortion. Most women in Kansas don’t live in a county with an abortion clinic—in 2014, 97% of Kansas counties were without a single clinic that provided abortions. Medication abortion has been available in the U.S. since 2000 and is extremely safe—the serious complication rate is less than one-half of one percent, whether provided in-person or by telemedicine.



“At a time when more and more clinics are closing under the weight of government restrictions, telemedicine is an increasingly crucial option,” said Nancy Northup, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This ban has no medical basis; its sole purpose is to create more hurdles for Kansas women seeking an abortion. In all medical contexts except abortion, Kansas authorizes physicians to use telemedicine to provide treatment and prescribe medication. In treating abortion differently than other medical procedures, this ban violates the Equal Protection guarantee of the Kansas Constitution and creates an undue burden for Kansas women.”



Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of Trust Women stated, “Our mission at Trust Women is to expand access to abortion care for underserved communities. Telemedicine allows us to bring access to even more patients and communities.  This ban hurts Kansas women by mandating that they must travel farther and pay more in gas, child care, lost wages and lodging to access necessary medical care.  Medication abortion is safe whether provided in-person or by telemedicine.  It is time for the state of Kansas to stop treating abortion differently from other types of health care and to start looking for solutions to providing adequate medical care for all Kansans.” 



While encouraging the use of telemedicine generally, the ban singles out abortion care from all other medical care. Kansas already utilizes telemedicine for medical services such as diagnosing and treating stroke victims, autism diagnosis, cardiology, oncology/hematology, pain management, pediatrics, psychiatry, and psychology. Telemedicine allows women to be evaluated and treated sooner and expands access to women in underserved areas.



In its complaint, the Center for Reproductive Rights argues that the ban unjustly singles out abortion care and creates an undue burden for women by restricting access without any countervailing health benefits. The Center asks the court to block the ban and safeguard access to safe and legal abortion for women in Kansas. A similar ban in Iowa was unanimously struck down in 2015 by the Iowa Supreme Court. The Court found the ban imposed an undue burden on a woman’s right to abortion.



Kansas women already face a number of abortion restrictions—they are required to receive state-mandated information and then wait at least 24-hours before obtaining an abortion. Women on Medicaid and state employees cannot use their health care coverage to obtain an abortion unless the pregnancy is life-threatening, and state agencies and employees are prohibited from providing abortion services. Private insurance is also banned from covering abortion in Kansas. 



HB 2028 also includes a nonseverability clause that applies to the abortion provision only, meaning that if the abortion provision is determined to be unconstitutional or invalid, the entire telemedicine act falls.



You can read the Center for Reproductive Rights’ complaint here.



Leah Wiederhorn and Jessica Sklarsky from the Center for Reproductive Rights filed the suit, along with local counsel Robert Eye in Lawrence, Kans.



MEDIA CONTACTS: Center for Reproductive Rights: Kelly Krause; [email protected]; 917-637-3649   Trust Women: Katie Knutter: [email protected]; 580-229-6446


Related Posts

Azar v. Garza Amicus Brief

Abortion,United States,In the Courts

Complaint: Falls Church Healthcare Center et al. v. Norman Oliver et al.

Abortion,United States,In the Courts

Amicus Brief: State of California et al. v. Alex M. Azar et al.

Other Barriers, Contraception,United States,In the Courts

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2023)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up