Abortion ban back at Kansas Statehouse

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansas lawmakers have reintroduced a near-total abortion ban, similar to a Texas law. The bill would ban abortion procedures, except when necessary to save the life of the mother.

The bill, HB 2492, was introduced by five Republican lawmakers on Wednesday. It's currently been referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.

Despite an overwhelming majority of Kansas voters voting to uphold abortion rights in the 2022 Primary Election, some Republicans have forged ahead with efforts to ban the practice.

Last year, in March, the Kansas Supreme Court heard oral arguments to consider exactly how far the Republican-controlled Legislature can go in restricting abortion under a 2019 decision protecting abortion rights. While, the court has not released a decision, the hearing did signal that the state's high court still considers access to abortion a "fundamental" right in the state constitution.

This new bill also comes amid legal challenges to abortion-related laws in the state. A bill passed last year that would require physicians to tell patients that a medication abortion can be reversed.

A judge temporarily blocked the law, along with other restrictions in October, as the case moves through the legal system.

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