The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling that maintains a woman’s right to an abortion.
The Supreme Court ruling follows a Shawnee County District Court ruling halting enforcement of a state law that bans the procedure known officially as dilation and evacuation. After lawmakers passed Senate Bill 95 four years ago, two doctors sued the state, arguing the bill violated patient rights because it prevented physicians from using the safest procedure for most second-trimester abortions.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt responded, saying no right to abortion exists in the Kansas Constitution, and even if the Constitution did protect those rights, the bill was not in violation because doctors had other methods available to perform second-trimester abortions.
The Supreme Court says Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects a woman’s right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy. It also says government regulation of abortion is allowed only if it passes certain scrutiny tests, including a “compelling government interest.”
