The Kansas House has given first-round approval to wide-ranging abortion bill.
It would block tax breaks for abortion providers and bar public schools from using sex education instruction from abortion providers. Olathe Republican Lance Kinzer said blocking the tax deductions sends a message to Kansans.
"Every Kansas taxpayer will be able to know with a high degree of certainty that none of their tax dollars are being used to promote the performance of abortion, that's important," Kinzer said.
The bill would also require physicians to give a women seeking an abortion information saying there's a link between abortion and breast cancer. Representative Barbara Bollier, a Republican from Mission Hills, offered an amendment to eliminate that part of the bill. Bollier is a retired physician and says there isn't a proven link.
"I don't want you at my doctor's appointment, telling my doctor what to say. I want to do that with my physician," Bollier said.
Her amendment failed.
The legislation also says that life begins at fertilization.
Abortion-rights advocates consider the bill the biggest threat in Kansas this year to access to abortion services. Supporters contend it shows the state's commitment to protecting life.