Kansas Supreme Court overturns second-trimester abortion ban and affirms right to abortion

In a 5-1 ruling, the Kansas Supreme Court has overturned two restrictive abortion bans and reaffirmed the right to abortion.

In a series of opinions by Democratic governor-appointed judges Eric Rosen and Melissa Standridge, the court found that the Kansas Constitution protected the right to abortion and struck down the two laws.

Senate Bill 95, passed by Republicans in Kansas, banned an abortion procedure called dilation and evacuation, which is used in many second-trimester pregnancies.

“SB 95 does not promote patient safety. It puts patient safety at risk,” Rosen wrote in his opinion, adding that the bill “eliminates a safe and common medical procedure and exposes patients to procedures that are rarely used, untested, and sometimes more dangerous or impossible.”

The five justices appointed by the state’s Democratic governors joined the majority, while one of the two Republican-appointed justices dissented.

In Kansas, which has long allowed abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, a number of anti-abortion bills have been introduced at the state level following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision on the landmark Roe v. Wade case, even though the state’s highest court itself says the right to reproductive care is enshrined in the state constitution.

“We maintain our conclusion that Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights protects a fundamental right to personal autonomy, which includes the right of a pregnant person to terminate a pregnancy,” Rosen wrote.

Outside of Kansas, at least five states will consider abortion rights at the ballot box in November, while even more states are considering restrictive bans or legal protections in their legislatures.

At the federal level, President Joe Biden has called for a reinstatement of Roe v. Wade, and the Trump-backed Project 2025 is calling for a nationwide ban on mifepristone, a drug used in most medication abortions.