The Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed on July 5 that the state’s constitution protects the right to abortion, striking down several abortion restrictions challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Kansas abortion providers.

The decision comes more than four years after the court recognized that the state constitution protects the right to abortion—and nearly two years after Kansans voted overwhelmingly to protect that right. 

“Kansas voters made it loud and clear in 2022: the right to abortion must be protected. Now the Kansas Supreme Court has decisively reaffirmed that the state constitution protects abortion as a fundamental right,” said Nancy Northup, Center president and CEO. “This is an immense victory for the health, safety, and dignity of people in Kansas and the entire Midwestern region, where millions have been cut off from abortion access.” 

Kansas was the first state to vote on abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion in June 2022. Weeks after that ruling, Kansans came out to defend their right to abortion by defeating a ballot initiative that would have removed the right from the state’s constitution. Since then, six additional states have held abortion-related ballot initiatives, with voters favoring abortion rights each time.

Court’s Ruling Strikes Down Several Abortion Restrictions 

In its ruling, the court permanently struck down a ban on the most common abortion procedure used after approximately 14-15 weeks of pregnancy, called dilation and evacuation (D&E), and ruled against a series of restrictions imposing burdensome and unnecessary requirements.

“We stand by our conclusion that section 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects a fundamental right to personal autonomy, which includes a pregnant person’s right to terminate a pregnancy,” stated the court in its ruling. 

The cases were filed on behalf of Drs. Hodes and Nauser and their practice, the Center for Women’s Health, which has offered abortion care in Kansas for decades. 

Kansas Supreme Court Recognized Abortion as a Fundamental Right in Earlier Case 

The Kansas Constitution contains a guarantee of “equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which the Kansas Supreme Court has recognized includes the fundamental right to abortion. 

The Center brought the legal challenge in 2019 that led the Kansas Supreme Court to recognize state constitutional protections. The ruling strengthened protections for abortion access in the face of relentless attacks by anti-abortion lawmakers. Read more about that landmark case in the Center’s State Constitutions and Abortion Rights report here.

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