The Kansas Attorney General’s office has filed an appeal of an injunction placed on some of the state’s pro-life laws in October. The order temporarily halted state laws requiring a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, a requirement that women receive information about the return of the abortion pill, an order for regulations at the abortion facility, and informed consent requirements including availability of fetal ultrasound.
Attorney General Kris Kobach filed the notice Thursday in Johnson County District Court, asking the higher court to overturn District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram’s block of laws.
“The attorney general has a responsibility to protect women against radicals who want to deny them the ability to make informed decisions about their own health and the welfare of their babies,” Kobach spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said. Associated Press.
In his decision last month, Kobach declared that pro-life laws may be unconstitutional and impose an undue burden on women seeking abortions. Some of the laws have been on the books for years, and the waiting period law has been in effect since 1997. Despite this, several abortion businesses filed suit in June of this year on the grounds that the law is unconstitutional.
“Kansans have made it clear that they do not want politicians to interfere with their health care decisions and the courts have reaffirmed that right,” said Anamarie Rebori-Simmons, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “The attorney general continues to ignore the wishes of those he serves.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom is helping Kobach defend the state’s pro-life laws.
“For decades, women in Kansas have been empowered to make fully informed decisions when it comes to the health of their pregnancies and the consequent decision to end the life of their unborn child. These types of informed consent laws reflect the long-standing will of the people of Kansas, but Planned Parenthood challenged the law because it affected their bottom line,” said ADF Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton following Kobach’s decision in October.
“Planned Parenthood has made it clear that its goal is to withhold information from women, bypass ultrasounds, and refuse to meet with women before abortions. Kansans are right to want to protect the health and safety of mothers and the lives of the unborn, and we will continue to defend their interests.”
