Kansas Abortion Providers Challenge New Law Forcing Them to Give Patient Information to the State

05.20.24 (PRESS RELEASE) — Today, Kansas abortion providers filed a legal challenge to a new law that would force providers to report to the state patients’ reasons for seeking abortion. The law, which is set to take effect July 1, violates patient privacy and jeopardizes provider-patient relationships. Despite Kansans overwhelming support for abortion rights, anti-abortion lawmakers passed House Bill 2749, overriding a veto from Governor Laura Kelly.

HB 2749 requires health care providers to interrogate patients seeking abortion care with invasive and unnecessary questions, including probing the “reasons” they are seeking an abortion. The lawsuit asserts that this directly interferes with Kansans’ bodily autonomy and their fundamental right to make their own decisions about health care.

“The decision to have an abortion is deeply personal—no one should be forced to tell the government why they are making that decision,” said Alice Wang, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “It’s frankly frightening that the state of Kansas is attempting to collect this type of private information, and unclear how it will be used. We are committed to protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of Kansans and people fleeing states where abortion is banned.”

“We’re challenging this latest invasion into the private decisions of Kansans for one simple reason: unlike the legislature, we actually listened when the people voted in August 2022. Kansans want their medical decisions to be their own, and we will not shame or stigmatize patients to satisfy the cruel whims of anti-abortion politicians,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “This bill was never intended to improve the health of Kansans; it was meant to shame reproductive care and force patients to answer deeply personal questions that accomplish nothing beyond trauma and judgment. Planned Parenthood Great Plains trusts patients and will challenge laws that undermine reproductive rights or limit access to essential services.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood are asking the court to add this challenge to an ongoing case brought on behalf of Kansas abortion providers. The lawsuit challenges other Kansas abortion restrictions, including:

• A requirement that patients receive misinformation before getting an abortion, including medically inaccurate statements that abortion poses a “risk of premature birth in future pregnancies” and “risk of breast cancer.” 
• A law passed in 2023 that would require providers to relay to patients the false and dangerous claim that it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion.  
• Arbitrary requirements that patients wait at least 24 hours after receiving state-mandated information before obtaining an abortion, delaying access to time-sensitive health care. 

In October 2023, a Johnson County district court judge temporarily blocked these laws. In his ruling, Judge Krishnan Christopher Jayaram recognized that the set of laws violates patients’ fundamental right to abortion and providers’ right to free speech. He wrote that the restrictions only serve to “stigmatize the procedure and instill fear in patients that are contemplating an abortion, such that they make an alternative choice, based upon disproven and unsupportable claims.” The state has appealed that decision.

HB 2749 and the other laws already included in this lawsuit are part of an anti-democratic trend in Kansas, where anti-abortion lawmakers have persistently advanced legislation that attacks reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. Despite overwhelming public support for abortion rights, these laws recklessly disregard the will of Kansans, endangering the health and safety of countless individuals.

This case was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Arnold & Porter, Hunter Law Group, and Teresa Woody on behalf of plaintiffs Hodes & Nauser, M.D.s, P.A.; Traci Lynn Nauser, M.D.; Tristan Fowler, D.O.; and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Center for Reproductive Rights: [email protected]

Planned Parenthood Great Plains: Hanna Sumpter, [email protected]

PPFA: [email protected]