Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
On Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court struck down a Republican-backed abortion second-trimester ban and affirmed that the state’s constitution protects abortion access, with one justice dissenting.
In two separate decisions released on Friday, the court ruled, “The Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects a fundamental right to personal autonomy, which includes a pregnant person’s right to terminate a pregnancy.” The Court also ruled against several state licensing requirements for abortion providers.
The decisions blocked enforcement of a 2015 law supported by Republican legislators that banned the common second-trimester abortion procedure of dilation and evacuation. The Court found that S.B. 95, known as Unborn Protection from Dismemberment Act, violates the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and “impairs the right to abortion.”
Newsweek reached out to the Kansas Republican Party for comment via email Friday afternoon. Newsweek reached out via text message to the Party’s chair, Mike Brown, on Friday afternoon.
Kansas, a reliably conservative state for decades, has been at the center of national abortion debates in the past few years. In August 2022, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision which eliminated the federal right to abortion, Kansans overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that sought to remove abortion protections from the state constitution. It was the first vote in the nation of its kind since Dobbs. The majority referenced the 2022 vote in their opinion, stating, “The people spoke with their votes.”
Abortion care advocates have applauded the decisions, such as the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which filed one of the cases on behalf of an abortion care provider. Nancy Northup, CRR’s president and chief executive officer called the ruling 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.”
The statement highlighted that “The number of abortions provided in Kansas increased by 57% in 2022, with over two-thirds of patients traveling from out of state,” as reported by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. This reflects a broader trend of patients from states with more restrictive abortion laws seeking medical services in Kansas.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Kansas has experienced a significant uptick in abortions, largely due to out-of-state patients, presumably from neighboring states with more restrictive abortion policies such as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas.
The Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that supports abortion rights, released a report last month that found abortion clinics increase by 50 percent between 2020 and 2023 in Kansas.
Newsweek reached out to the Americans United for Life for comment via email on Friday.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer, according to the United State’s Attorney.
According to court documents, Wayne F. Fleming, 41, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
In May 2021, Fleming sold drugs multiple times to an undercover officer with the Wichita Police Department. Testing by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center showed the total amount Fleming sold to the officer to be more than 200 grams of pure methamphetamine.
“Mr. Fleming was federally indicted in 2021, but before a plea agreement was reached, Mr. Fleming went to state prison to serve time for offenses unrelated to the federal case,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “The Department of Justice doesn’t forget. Not long after his release from a state prison, Mr. Fleming is now an inmate in a federal prison.”
The Wichita Police Department investigated the case.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KCTV) – A Kansas inmate will spend more time behind bars after a dispute over an extra slice of pizza turned physical.
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson announced on Wednesday, March 25, that Wyatt C. Parnell, 42, an inmate at Lansing Correctional Facility, was sentenced to 16 additional months.
Prosecutors indicated that the sentence is the result of an attempt to assault a corrections officer during a December 2019 dining hall confrontation.
Court records noted that the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2019 – the day after Christmas – in the facility’s maximum-security dining room.
According to prosecutors, Parnell entered the dining hall, picked up a dinner tray and grabbed an extra slice of pizza from a separate tray.
A corrections officer repeatedly ordered him to put the tray down and leave the area; however, court documents revealed that Parnell refused.
When the officer moved to retrieve the tray and again ordered Parnell to leave, prosecutors said he yanked the tray away and threw it on the floor.
Parnell then tried to push past the officer to reach the serving line for another tray, according to court records.
The officer reported that they attempted to detain Parnell, but he resisted, leading to a physical fight.
Court records indicated that Parnell pleaded no contest to attempted aggravated battery. His new sentence will run consecutively – meaning it is added to the sentence he is already serving.
“Correctional facilities rely on order and compliance to maintain safety for both staff and inmates,” Thompson said. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of disregarding lawful commands and engaging in behavior that puts others at risk.”
Corrections records show that Parnell was already serving time for:
Prison records also show a lengthy disciplinary history, including violations for:
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
This cat was feeling stuck.
A fat cat was nearly devoured by an unforgiving reclining chair as it desperately tried to evade its owner and got stuck ahead of an annual visit to the vet — forcing rescuing firefighters to destroy the lounger.
The Garfield lookalike summoned all its strength to avoid its owner ahead of a trip to the veterinarian on Saturday, when it somehow managed to wedge itself in the metal base of a mechanical recliner — which was full of sharp springs and hinges, photos shared by the Overland Park Police Department show.
It appeared to be mewling for help while one firefighter cradled its hind legs and another tended to one front paw. The pussycat then clung to the metal grate with its other paw, not daring to take its beady eyes off a screwdriver in the firefighter’s hand.
The cat’s pudgy belly, jutted out as the recliner’s leg threatened to crush its chest.
Firefighters had to saw the chair in half to free the feline with assistance from animal control.
Police assured that, once the cat was safe, it “arrived to the vet for its annual checkup.”
Feline fanatics weren’t surprised by the orange cat’s brainless bolt for freedom.
“Glad the kitty was safe!!! They will do anything to avoid a visit to the vet!!!!” one woman commented on the police department’s Instagram post.
“Anyone who has an orange cat knows this is just standard #oneorangebraincell life,” another added.
“RIP mechanical recliner,” one user mourned.
In 2024, a 38-pound rescue cat named Crumbs got stuck in a shoe rack while trying to break out of fat camp.
In the viral snapshot of Crumbs’ ignominy, it laid face-down in a blue Croc shoe while its bulbous belly hung between the slots in the rack.
Drummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
How a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
Test Your Memory of Great Lines From Classic Irish Poems
‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
IOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
I had to man up and get a mammogram
Clovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
How to buy Houston vs. Texas A&M 2026 March Madness tickets