Judge blocks Kansas' ban on 2nd-trimester abortion procedure

TOPEKA, Kan. -- A judge on Thursday blocked Kansas' first-in-the-nation ban on an abortion procedure opponents describe as dismembering a fetus, concluding the law likely would present too big an obstacle for women seeking to end their pregnancies.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks sided with New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, agreeing to put the law on hold while he considers a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Kansas abortion providers.

The center argued the law would force women to undergo riskier procedures or forgo abortions. It also noted the procedure is used in 95 percent of second-trimester abortions nationwide and said previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings don't allow a state to ban the most common method for terminating a pregnancy.

Hendricks said those arguments likely would prevail in court, even though alternative abortion methods still would be legal.

"The alternatives do not appear to be medically necessary or reasonable," Hendricks said from the bench Thursday.

The law was supposed to take effect July 1.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican and strong abortion opponent, was disappointed by the decision and believes "Kansas law should protect human dignity for all Kansans," spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said.

The state argued it has an interest in protecting the dignity of human life and promoting more humane alternatives. But Janet Crepps, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the judge such an argument would enable the Legislature "to assert the same interests and ban every single abortion method."

The judge also said the Kansas Constitution independently protects abortion rights at least as much as the U.S. Constitution. Attorneys on both sides said such a ruling, if upheld, eventually could allow state courts to strike down restrictions affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement Hendricks' ruling "appears to be based on an unprecedented interpretation of the Kansas Constitution."

The new law would ban doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. Such instruments commonly are used in dilation and evacuation procedures, but Kansas legislators said using them on a live fetus is inhumane.

The new law includes exceptions to protect the life and physical health of a woman, and it wouldn't apply if doctors ensure a fetus dies before using the instruments.

The law arose from model legislation pushed by the National Right to Life Committee. Kansas was the first state to enact it. Oklahoma legislators approved a similar law, but it doesn't take effect until November.

Dilation and evacuation procedures accounted for about 9 percent of all abortions in Kansas last year, according to the state health department. The state already bans most abortions at or after the 22nd week of pregnancy, and 89 percent last year occurred before the 13th week.