Newly sworn in Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is asking the state’s highest court to reconsider a landmark decision protecting access to abortion months after a decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights. Kobach said Wednesday that one reason for the Kansas Supreme Court to reconsider its 2019 ruling is the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade and declaring that the U. S. Constitution doesn’t grant a right to abortion access. In 2019, the court declared that access to abortion is a matter of women’s bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state’s own bill of rights. The decision came in the first stage of a lawsuit challenging a 2015 state law banning the most common second-trimester abortion procedure, and the court is now considering the question of whether that not-yet-enforced law violates the state constitution. It also is considering the validity of extra health and safety regulations for abortion providers. Kobach is inheriting the state’s defense of existing abortion restrictions from his predecessor, Republican Derek Schmidt, who left office Monday after losing the race for Governor in November.
Kobach noted not only the U. S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June but also an Iowa Supreme Court decision the week before, overturning its own 2018 ruling that protected abortion rights.
