8 August 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – On Tuesday, a Johnson County district court judge is set to decide whether to temporarily stop a 24-hour delay on abortions. The provision is part of the Women’s Right to Know Act, which is being challenged by abortion providers.
The act was established in 1997, and it also requires the patient to meet with the doctor at least 30 minutes before the procedure to ask questions and obtain information.
Aside from the wait times, abortion providers are also taking issue with the latest amendment passed this year, which requires physicians to tell patients that a medication abortion can be reversed.
Abortion providers filed a lawsuit in June challenging the provision.
Now, they’re asking Johnson County Judge K. Christopher Jayaram to temporarily block enforcement of restrictions listed in the act, as legal proceedings are underway.
“I think this kind of legislation puts fears out there that aren’t warranted,” said Senator Pat Pettey, a democrat from Kansas City.
Pettey is one of several democrats siding with abortion providers, who believe the information in the latest amendment to the act is misleading and not based on science. She argues that Kansans overwhelmingly voted in favor of protecting abortion rights in the state constitution, during last year’s Primary election.
“What the citizens of Kansas said last year… is that they support a woman’s autonomy of her body, and that should start from the first hour…not 24 hours later,” Pettey said.
However, Republicans argue that the act, including its latest amendment, allows women to make an informed decision.
“There was a lot of thought that went into these very simple bills that we wrote to just protect women…and help women to know there is an alternative…there is an option. I can’t imagine why someone would want an injunction about these women… vulnerable women… being more informed,” said Senator Beverly Gossage, (R) Eudora.
Both parties in the lawsuit agreed to not enforce the law amid legal challenges.
The hearing in Johnson County on the temporary injunction requested by abortion providers will decide whether that continues. It will take place Tuesday, August 8, at 2p.m. at the Johnson County District Courthouse.