As Roe v. Wade turns 40, right-to-life activists are riding a wave of success in Kansas — where new restrictions on abortions just won a legal challenge — and are pushing the Republican-dominated state to approve more laws.
The American Civil Liberties Union just dropped its lawsuit against a new Kansas law that prohibits private insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in general health plans, except when necessary to save the life of the mother. On Jan. 7, a federal judge ruled that the ACLU failed to show the new law would prevent women from obtaining abortions. The new law only impacts general health care policy plans; Kansas residents still can pay for the procedure themselves or obtain abortion coverage in insurance policies via a supplemental provision, or rider.
That ACLU has backed off its legal challenge is a clear win for Gov. Sam Brownback, who had called on lawmakers to create a “culture of life” in January 2011, when he took office.
On Tuesday, the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, hundreds of right-to-life activists rallied in Tokepa, Kansas’ capital, to push for even more restrictions, including a limit on doctors-in-training at a state-funded medical facility from performing the procedure.
“There are still things we can do,” said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, according to a CBS report.
Most states require a waiting period for abortions, and parental permission for minors.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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