Restrictions

Kansas law generally prohibits abortion at twenty-two weeks LMP and post-viability.^[1]KAN. STAT. ANN. § 65-6723(f); id. § 65-6724(a); id. § 65-6703. The state asserts that life begins at fertilization.^[2]Id. § 65-6732. It prohibits D&X procedures^[3]Id. § 65-6721. and D&E procedures, although the latter ban is permanently enjoined,^[4]Id. § 65-6472(b); id. § 65-6743; Hodes & Nauser, MDs, P.A. v. Schmidt, 440 P.3d 461 (Kan. 2019); Hodes & Nauser, MDs, P.A. v. Schmidt, 2015-CV-490 (Kan. D. Ct. Apr. 7, 2021). and abortions sought for reasons of sex selection.^[5]KAN. STAT. ANN. § 65-6726. Pregnant people who seek abortion care must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period and biased counseling.^[6]Id. § 65-6709. Kansas also limits public funding for,^[7]Id. § 65-6733; KANSAS MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, Kansas Medical Assistance Program Provider Manual, 28 (2019) and private insurance coverage of, abortion.^[8]KAN. STAT. ANN. § 40-2,190. Kansas law generally requires that both parents, the legal guardian,^[9]Id. § 65-6705(a). or a judge^[10]Id. § 65-6705(b). consent to a minor’s abortion.

Kansas’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include permanently enjoined requirements related to facilities,^[11]Id. § 65-4a01, -4a02; id. § 65-4a07; KAN. ADMIN. REGS. §§ 28-34-126 to 28-34-144. Hodes v. Moser, MDs, P.A. v. Stanek, No. 125,051 (Kan. 2024). permanently enjoined admitting privileges,^[12]Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 65-4a08(b), 65-4a09(d); Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-34-132(b). Hodes v. Moser, MDs, P.A. v. Kobach, No. 124, 130, (Kan. 2024). and reporting.^[13]KAN. STAT. ANN. § 65-445. Kansas law restricts the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians,^[14]Id. § 65-4a10(a) See also H.B. 2279, 2022 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ka. 2022), amending Kan. Stat. Ann. § 65-1130(d)(1). and restricts physicians from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care,^[15]Id. § 65-4a10(b)(1). although the latter restriction is enjoined.^[16]Although the in-person requirement has been enjoined pursuant to an agreed-upon order, the scope and duration of the injunction are subject to litigation. Trust Women Found. Inc. v. Bennett, No. … Continue reading In 2023, using its veto override authority, the Kansas Legislature enacted a biased counseling requirement^[17]H.B. 2264, 2023 Leg. Sess., Reg. Sess. (Ka. 2023), to be codified at Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-2,190, 65-4a01, 65-6701, 65-6708, 65-6723, 65-6742. and appropriated $2 million for anti-abortion centers or fake clinics.^[18]H.B. 2184, 2023 Leg. Sess., Reg. Sess. (Ka. 2023). The biased counseling requirement is being challenged in state court, and the state has agreed not to enforce the biased counseling requirement while the challenge is pending. ^[19] Stipulation in Hodes & Nauser, MDs, P.A. v. Kobach, No. 23-CV-03140 (Kan. D. Ct. Jun. 16, 2023). Providers who violate Kansas’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[20]See, e.g., KAN. STAT. ANN. § 65-6724(g), (j); id. § 65-6726(b), (e).

State Protections

Kansas law includes constitutional protections for abortion. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court held that “the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects all Kansans’ natural right of personal autonomy,” which “includes the right to control one’s own body, to assert bodily integrity, and to exercise self-determination,” and allows each individual to make their own decision regarding “whether to continue a pregnancy.”^[21]Hodes & Nauser, MDsS, P.A. v. Schmidt, 440 P.3d 461, 502 (Kan. 2019). Accordingly, under the Kansas Constitution, the correct standard of review is strict scrutiny.^[22]Id. at 493-98. In January 2021, Kansas lawmakers passed legislation that placed an amendment to “affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion” on the August 2022 primary ballot.^[23]Value Them Both Amendment, H.C.R. 5003 (adopted Jan. 28, 2021). A majority of voters opposed the measure and the constitution continues to protect abortion.^[24]Kan. Sec’y. of State, 2022 Primary Election, Official Vote Totals (2022). Kansas protects clinic access by prohibiting trespass or physical obstruction for health-care facilities.^[25]KAN. STAT. ANN. § 21-5808(a)(2).

Post-Roe Prohibitions

Kansas repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1992.^[26]Id. § 21-3407, repealed by 1992 Kan. Sess. Laws 729.

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain legal in Kansas. In 2019, the state’s highest court ruled that a pregnant person’s right to personal autonomy is protected in the Kansas constitution and, in 2022, voters overwhelming opposed a constitutional amendment to remove that protection.