Is Kansas About to Ban Abortion Completely?

Legislators in Kansas, including the Republican-led House and Senate, have managed to pass an anti-abortion bill that was recently signed by the governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback. The bill covers a lot of ground to begin with, reaffirming the state's ban on abortion after 20 weeks. It cuts tax breaks from abortion providers, and uses language that promotes the idea of "fetal personhood." However, the most ridiculous part of the bill is the statement mandating that doctors must lie to women, warning them that abortions can lead to breast cancer.

Another outlandish thing is that according to a photograph snapped by Associated Press, Brownback's talking points — his notes — next to the bill feature the words, "JESUS + Mary." 

Pro-choice advocates claim that the bill is preparing Kansas legislators to outlaw abortion completely. Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute tells Reuters that if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Kansas will be ready to outlaw abortion completely. The "personhood" language used in the bill may prepare Kansas to outlaw abortion completely, and even some forms of birth control may be outlawed. Not only that, but restrictions may be put on the information children learn in school about sex, contraception, and fetal development. When it comes to Kansas's sex education laws, education about STIs and AIDS is a requirement but there is no requirement mandating anything about contraception, consent, or medically accurate information being taught in their schools. The concern about this bill is very real.

Of course, none of this is a surprise by any means. Governor Brownback has always actively participated in pro-life activism, legislation and has been anti-choice his entire life. However, we really must question whether the movement is "pro-life" or "anti-choice" when it keeps resorting to medically inaccurate information to reach its goals. For example, North Carolina's "Choose Life" campaign, which opened "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" throughout the state, two-thirds of them providing medically inaccurate information.