SHWANEE, Kan. – A Shawnee County Judge has issued an opinion siding with Kansas City-area abortionists and striking down a law prohibiting the brutal practice of live dismemberment abortion. The 2015 law received overwhelming bi-partisan support in the Kansas legislature and is broadly popular with the public, but has been prevented from being enforced by constant lawsuits.
The law would ban doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. Such instruments are commonly used in dilation and evacuation procedures, but Kansas legislators said using them on a live fetus is inhumane.
The new law includes exceptions to protect the life and physical health of a woman, and it wouldn’t apply if doctors ensure a fetus dies before using the instruments.
The pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights sued the state, claiming the law would limit women to riskier methods of abortion, even though only 9 percent of Kansas abortions were D&E procedures last year.
The state’s attorneys argued that because the ban only applies to dismembering live babies and allows removing an already-dead fetus’ limbs separately, it should not be difficult for abortionists to comply.
The abortion industry wants unlimited and unregulated abortion in our state — even live dismemberment of preborn children,” stated Jeanne Gawdun, Kansans for Life’s Director of Government Relations. “This is exactly why Kansas voters must approve the Value Them Both Amendment on August 2nd of 2022. Women and babies in our state deserve better.”
Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a pro-life advocate, was disappointed by the decision and believes “Kansas law should protect human dignity for all Kansans,” a spokesperson said.
Jessie Basgall, attorney for Kansans for Life, said after the ruling that she believed the state would prevail.
“This is just whether or not the law is going to stand while we actually litigate the merits of this law,” she said.
The Value Them Both Amendment was approved by the Kansas Legislature in January of 2021 and will be considered by Kansas voters in August of 2022. The Amendment is designed to keep existing pro-life laws in place and ensure Kansas does not return to the days of being a destination for the most extreme abortion practices.
