Kansas legislature overrides governor veto on abortion survey and coercion protections

Kansas women seeking an abortion will now be asked to disclose their reason for obtaining the procedure after the successful passage by the state legislature of two controversial anti-abortion bills.

The Republican-controlled legislature in the Sunflower State overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D-KS) veto of two bills aimed at understanding the motivations for women obtaining an abortion and protecting women from being coerced into choosing an abortion.

Abortion in Kansas remains legal up to 20 weeks gestation following the 2022 failure to pass an amendment to the state constitution limiting the procedure.

According to 2023 data, the number of abortions in Kansas increased by about 150% since 2021, with nearly 70% of the over 12,000 abortions in the state being performed on non-Kansas residents.

Reason for abortion reporting

The first bill requires the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to ask patients their reason for having an abortion from a set list, including financial stress, rape, fetal disabilities, or the health of the mother. 

No “other” designation is to appear on the survey, but the patient can decline to answer. KDHE will be required to produce two annual reports on the data.

The bill, which passed the House in March, was passed 84-41 in the House and 27-10 in the Senate to override the veto.

A total of 46 states require some form of mandatory abortion reporting data, including the gestational age of the pregnancy and the patient’s state of residence. Only 16 other states ask about reasons why the patient is seeking an abortion, with nine of those states asking for reasons beyond the traditional exceptions of rape, incest, and life of the mother.  

Advocates of the legislation, including the primary drafter Kansas for Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion organization, say that the data will aid legislators in drafting legislation to support mothers with unplanned pregnancies.

“It’s important for public policy officials who make health decisions every day to make informed decisions,” Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr told the Kansas City Star. “In no way does the reporting in this bill restrict, prevent, or stop any woman from having an abortion.”

Opponents of the measure, including Democratic Rep. Pat Pettey, say that the bill is “invasive and really disrespectful of those women who have decided to make this difficult decision.”

According to survey data from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights think tank, three-quarters of women obtaining an abortion said that carrying a pregnancy would interfere with school, work, or obligations to other dependents. The same percentage said that they were not in a position to afford a baby.

Nearly half of women said they chose an abortion either due to relationship problems or fears of single motherhood.

Penalties for coercion

The second bill seeks to shield women from abortion coercion in an effort to protect victims of sex trafficking who may be forced to undergo multiple abortion procedures. 

Coercion is defined in the statute as physical, legal, or financial threats to the mother, the withholding of legal documents, and controlling access to medical care. The law classifies abortion coercion as a felony offense, with penalties increasing if the patient is a minor and the coercer is over 18 years old.

Kelly, in her veto message on the bill, agreed that abortion should be an independent choice of the mother and not forced, but she argued the bill would likely “intrude upon private, often difficult conversations” with the patient’s close relations.

Republican legislators contend, however, that the statute is narrowly crafted so as to only apply to women in sex trafficking conditions and other instances of extreme sexual abuse.

Republican Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, the original sponsor of the bill, says she is looking for ways to expand the measure to include instances of severe domestic violence and spousal coercion, which may prove more difficult.

Survey data indicate that approximately 24% of women who have an abortion do not want the procedure. Another 43% of women say that they independently elected to have an abortion due to their circumstances despite the procedure conflicting with their values.