Kansas Supreme Court to Consider Right to Abortion
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.