The Kansas Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the conservative state's constitution guarantees the right to an abortion as part of an appeal of a groundbreaking appeals court ruling.

The appeal comes after the Kansas Court of Appeals refused to implement the state's first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method.

In a split decision, the court said the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights independently from the U.S. Constitution. If upheld, the ruling would allow state courts to protect a woman's right to end her pregnancy beyond federal court rulings.

Critics fear it also could be used by abortion rights supporters to challenge other state laws restricting abortion.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss on Monday granted the request to hear the case.

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