Kansas abortion bill passes, would break new ground
The Kansas Legislature on Wednesday became the first in the country to pass a ban on an abortion procedure often used in the second trimester of pregnancy.
Abortion foes targeted the technique as a “grotesque” dismemberment of a fetus. The procedure is used in about 8 percent of all abortions in Kansas.
The Kansas House approved the bill 98-26. The act now goes to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who has promised to sign it into law.
Opponents say the bill echoes a political strategy used a decade ago — using graphic language to stir emotional debate — to ban a form of late-term abortion. They also say it could outlaw one of the safest methods for ending a pregnancy.
Those abortion-rights supporters remain unsure of the impact of the legislation, also under consideration in Missouri and Oklahoma. They could not say whether they would challenge it in court.
“We’ve never seen this language before,” said Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues associate for the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. “It’s not medical language, so it’s a little bit difficult to figure out what the language would do.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article16322549.html#storylink=cpy
