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Kansas Governor Signs Anti-Abortion Bill

Yesterday Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed SB 36, a bill requiring that abortion clinics in Kansas be inspected two times per year, one of which must be unannounced. The bill would also prohibit the clinics from prescribing mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill, remotely through telemedicine. The law will go into effect July 1.

The bill authorizes the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to regulate buildings and equipment for the clinics and issue licenses annually to clinics performing abortions. If the clinics do not comply with the established standards, the Department can then issue fines and file lawsuits to have the clinics closed.

Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and mid-Missouri, clarified that that SB 36 would “make the services more expensive and more difficult to obtain or more difficult to provide.”

In April, Governor Brownback signed a bill requiring that medical providers obtain a written and notarized indication of consent from both parents prior to offering abortion services to minors.

Sources:

National Partnership for Women and Families 5/17/11; Associated Press 5/17/11

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