Kansas Supreme Court Rejects Republican-Backed Abortion Regulations

The rulings were the latest blow for abortion opponents in Kansas, where abortion protections in the State Constitution have vexed Republicans for years.

The Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed abortion protections in the state’s Constitution on Friday, striking down Republican-backed laws that banned a common second-trimester abortion procedure and created additional licensing requirements for abortion clinics.

“The state devoted much of its brief to inviting us to reverse our earlier ruling in this case that the Kansas Constitution protects a right to abortion,” Justice Eric Rosen wrote in one of the majority opinions. “We decline the invitation.” Justice Rosen, like five of the court’s seven members, was appointed by a Democratic governor.

The rulings were the latest setbacks for abortion opponents in Kansas, a conservative state that has been the setting for some of the country’s most important and divisive abortion debates. Most recently, in a closely watched vote in 2022, just after the fall of Roe v. Wade, Kansans rejected an attempt to remove abortion protections from the State Constitution.

The decisions on Friday permanently blocked enforcement of a 2015 law that banned dilation and evacuation, the most common form of abortion later in pregnancy, and permanently blocked laws that created special licensing requirements for abortion clinics. Each of the rulings was 5 to 1. The majority included four justices appointed by Democrats and one justice appointed by a Republican. One Republican appointee dissented, and one Democratic appointee did not participate.

In a statement, Danielle Underwood, a spokeswoman for Kansans for Life, said, “Extremely liberal judges of the Kansas Supreme Court have now overturned basic health and safety standards for abortion facilities.”

Supporters of abortion rights celebrated the decisions.