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Kansas Supreme Court To Hear Arguments Over State Abortion Rights

J. Stephen Conn
/
flickr Creative Commons

The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday morning on whether the state constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion. Last year the Kansas Court of Appeals said it does.

The Kansas appeals court upheld a trial judge’s decision to block a Kansas law banning the second-trimester abortion procedure known as “dilation and evacuation.”

The challenge to the ban was brought by two Overland Park doctors who operate one of three abortion clinics in Kansas.

The doctors say the Kansas Constitution’s bill of rights provides at least the same protections for abortion access as the federal Constitution. The state of Kansas says it does no such thing.

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision within the next few months.

Dan Margolies is editor in charge of health news at KCUR, the public radio station in Kansas City. Dan joined KCUR in April 2014. In a long and varied journalism career, he has worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Business Journal, The Kansas City Star and Reuters. In a previous life, he was a lawyer. He has also worked as a media insurance underwriter and project development director for a video production firm.