TOPEKA, KS — Planned Parenthood on Wednesday ripped a new pro-life law that bans all forms of dismemberment abortion in Kansas unless necessary to protect the life or health of the mother.
With the signing of the new law, Kansas is the first state to ban “dismemberment abortions”, typically performed in a woman’s second trimester of pregnancy, where a living unborn fetus is sucked out of a mother’s uterus.
“Kansas continues to be an outlier state on issues both fiscal and social; the signing of Senate Bill 95 is yet another extreme example of the Governor’s misguided and regressive roadmap for Kansas,” said Laura McQuade, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. “Kansas is now not only the sole state with this atrocious law; it also now has more restrictions on abortion than any state in the US. The majority of Kansans know you can’t build a strong, inclusive economy by stigmatizing and punishing more than 50% of the electorate.”
“Planned Parenthood is disappointed but not surprised by the signing of Senate Bill 95, which was written not by physicians and medical experts, but by a national interest group bent on banning abortion across the country. Our top priority remains fighting for the health and safety of Kansas women and giving voters the knowledge and tools they need to take back Kansas. We will continue to expose all extreme political measures aimed at denying women access to health care and at undermining their decision-making ability. And, as always, we will be here to provide high quality health care to Kansas women and families.”
Planned Parenthood strives to ensure that every individual has the knowledge, opportunity, and freedom to make informed private decisions about reproductive and sexual health. Planned Parenthood has concerns about many health provisions within the bill and their potential constitutional implications. Women seeking reproductive health care in Kansas need the best care they can get from providers in their community. They do not need interference and judgment from politicians.
The Kansas governor’s office said a series of public ceremonial signings of the new law will take place on April 28 with locations and details provided closer to that date.