6 June 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Several abortion provider organizations filed a lawsuit against the state of Kansas Tuesday over an abortion reversal bill passed in the Legislature this spring.
The abortion providers announced their lawsuit in state court through a press release from the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR). The groups seek legal action against laws which make abortion care more difficult to access along with recently passed legislation that requires physicians to tell women that a drug-induced abortion can be reversed. Hodes & Nauser, MDs, P.A.; Traci Lynn Nauser, M.D.; Tristan Fowler, D.O.; and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains are listed as the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit specifically targets the Woman’s Right to Know Act (WRTK) which was vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly earlier this year. State senators later voted 29-11 while representatives voted 84-40 to override Kelly’s veto, passing the bill into law. The law will go into effect starting July 1.
The CRR further say in their press release that the abortion providers are specifically challenging the following restrictions in their lawsuit:
A requirement that patients receive inaccurate state-mandated information, including what the CRR claims to be medically unfounded statements that abortion poses a “risk of premature birth in future pregnancies” and “risk of breast cancer.”
Arbitrary bureaucratic requirements that certain state-mandated information be received in printed form, in specific typeface, font size and color 24 hours in advance of an abortion, something which the CRR says delays access to time-sensitive health care.
A medically unnecessary rule the CRR says forces patients to wait 30 minutes after meeting with their abortion provider before they may receive abortion care.
A law requiring providers to relay to patients at least five times that a medication abortion can be “reversed.” The CRR claims this is a false and potentially dangerous claim that is unsupported by scientific evidence.
“Last year, Kansans voted that they wanted abortion access to remain constitutionally protected in their state. Now politicians have passed a law that would force providers to tell their patients outright falsehoods, piling on to already coercive requirements that make abortion in Kansas harder to access and demean those seeking abortion care,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “With the fall of Roe v. Wade, state constitutional protections for abortion rights are especially critical and we will defend them vigorously.”
During the 2022 Primary Election, Kansas voters rejected a ballot measure focused on restricting abortion rights. A recount was later called for by anti-abortion advocates but reaffirmed the results of the election.
“This year, instead of listening to the overwhelming majority of Kansans who trust patients to control their own reproductive health care, lawmakers enacted new restrictions on abortions that spread inaccurate, irresponsible, and dangerous information,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “Under state law, doctors are required to lie to their patients with information that directly contradicts evidence-based medicine, but people deserve facts and honest conversations without political interference.”
KSNT 27 News has reached out to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office for comment on the lawsuit.
You can read the lawsuit filed Tuesday in full by checking out the document below:
KS WRTK Act Complaint by Matthew Self on Scribd