Kansas Supreme Court rules state constitution protects abortion rights.
The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s constitution fundamentally protects abortion rights, blocking a state law that aimed to restrict a common abortion procedure and declaring that Kansans have a right to access abortion regardless of federal court decisions.
Judges ruled 6-1 on Friday morning that the Kansas constitution protects the “right of personal autonomy,” meaning state law cannot abridge the right “to control one’s own body, to assert bodily integrity, and to exercise self-determination. This right allows a woman to make her own decisions regarding her body, health, family formation and family life — decisions that can include whether to continue a pregnancy.”
Abortion rights advocates immediately seized on the ruling as a landmark decision that could have widespread implications, providing a pathway to override restrictive state laws elsewhere along with battling any potential federal court efforts to limit abortion rights protected by 1973’s Roe v. Wade decision. Those opposed to abortion said the ruling was extreme, and Kansas groups vowed to seek a state constitutional amendment — as other states have — to block certain abortion rights.
The state high court’s ruling blocked a 2015 Kansas law that banned a common second-trimester abortion procedure. The ruling comes as more than 11 Republican-led states across the Midwest and south have supported laws that ban abortion procedures after six weeks — often before women even know they are pregnant. Many of those bans are facing challenges in court.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-abortion-rights-a-decision-that-could-lead-to-challenges-in-other-states/ar-BBWk9sc?li=BBnbcA1
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