The Kansas Court of Appeals has struck down the state’s ban on what lawmakers call "dismemberment" abortions and what the medical community calls a “dilation and evacuation” procedure. This particular method of abortion is commonly used in the second trimester of a pregnancy. Heartland Health Monitor’s Dan Margolies has more.
Based at KCUR Radio in Kansas City, Heartland Health Monitor is a Midwest reporting consortium that covers health and health policy news.
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(AP version)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision that the state's constitution protects a woman's right to an abortion independent of the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. The court made the statement Friday in a 7-7 ruling that maintains a temporary hold on the state's first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester abortion method. Tie votes from the appeals court uphold the lower-court ruling being appealed. That means seven judges agreed with a lower court judge, who ruled that the Kansas Constitution's Bill of Rights has general statements about personal liberties that create independent protections for abortion rights.