Kansas Law to be Challenged In Court

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has signed a lot of new abortion restrictions this year. One of them is a law prohibiting health insurance companies in that state from covering abortion in comprehensive plans unless the procedure is necessary to save a woman's life. In other words, no exceptions for a woman's health or for victims of rape or incest.  Laura Bassett, from the Huffington Post, covered the issue yesterday.  From the article:

"It would be no different than the state making women pay a tax on abortion," said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "It's part of the onslaught of laws we're seeing nationally, and particularly in Kansas, that want to punish and shame women for choosing abortion."

The ACLU is challenging the law in federal court on the basis that it is unconstitutional and that it discriminates based on sex. The ACLU is fighting to protect the ability of women in Kansas to make the best decision for themselves and their families and stop the national trend toward these dangerous laws.

Here at Planned Parenthood we believe that every woman should have access to the full range of reproductive health care. Access to abortion is legal, constitutionally protected, and consistently supported by a majority of Americans; yet anti-choice organizations and policymakers have made it increasingly harder for women to access needed care. We are working to protect access to reproductive health care through education of elected officials, litigation, and mobilization of more than four million Planned Parenthood activists, donors, and supporters. Learn more here.

Read about what's happening in the Kansas City Star, and find out more about the ACLU's case at the Huffington Post and on the ACLU's website.

Technorati tags: Planned Parenthood, Abortion, ACLU, advocacy, Kansas