Three pro-life bills passed on the Kansas House floor on Wednesday. 

House Bills 2727, 2729 and 2635 are all on their way to the Senate after a veto-proof 87-37 vote.

Kansas Family Voice describes the three bills as means for “strengthening informed decision-making, protecting women’s health and safety.”

One bill would make it easier for women to sue abortion providers. Another would require that abortionists explain drugs and their side-effects to women under their care. The third would protect the legal rights and operational integrity of pro-life Care Pregnancy Centers in the state.

The first, HB 2727, would change the existing Woman’s Right to Know Act, which lists the required information a woman must be given before receiving an abortion. 

“The Woman’s Right to Know Act guarantees Kansas women the right to receive truthful, scientifically accurate information before undergoing an abortion,”  Brittany Jones, Kansas Family Voice president, said in her testimony for the bill. 

“It requires disclosure of the procedure’s risks and alternatives, information about the developing child, notice of available support services, and other material facts.”

Current Kansas law requires a woman claiming medical malpractice, including cases regarding abortion, to go through a screening panel. The panel is composed of doctors who practice in the same area as the doctor being accused. The grievance could take up to 180 days for the panel to process, and could still be rejected during or after that time, Jones noted. 

“Especially in cases of abortion, they’re very typically rejected,” she added.

HB 2727 would give women the option to skip the malpractice panel, making lawsuits faster and less expensive for victims. It also provides language for monetary damages.

“A woman who has not been told about the risks of abortion, who was not informed that she could withdraw her consent, or who was not given the opportunity to view an ultrasound may not suffer quantifiable economic damages in the traditional sense,” Jones said. “Yet the violation of her statutory rights is real and serious.”

Lucrecia Nold, public policy specialist at the Kansas Catholic Conference, also testified in favor of the bill, contending it would encourage women wronged by the abortion industry to feel empowered to speak up for themselves. 

“They often feel embarrassed, ashamed and feel intimidated with the thought of going up against doctors in the abortion industry,” Nold said. “Another reason is the financial barrier. So often, the abortion industry preys on the poverty of women.”

The second bill, HB 2729, would require healthcare providers to give women seeking an abortion a form from the Kansas Department of Health explaining the risks and side effects of mifepristone, now used in most abortions, at least 24 hours before the abortion takes place. 

Mifepristone doesn’t always kill the baby without other drugs or a second dose, and it “may be possible to reverse its intended effect if the second pill or tablet has not been taken or administered,” the form would say. “If you change your mind and wish to try to continue the pregnancy, you can get immediate help by accessing available resources.”

Planned Parenthood and the Mainstream Coalition opposed the bills. Taylor Morton, a lobbyist and policy analyst with Planned Parenthood, said HB 2729 is “designed to shame and stigmatize people seeking abortion care as a means of making abortion less accessible.

“Providers should not have to provide state mandated misinformation to patients.”

As stated in HB 2729, the document that would be given to patients states abortion could result in “risk of premature birth in future pregnancies, risk of breast cancer and risks to the woman’s reproductive health,” which Morton claims is “not based in truth.” 

However, Jones argues the information included in the draft is factual. 

“The state of Kansas has every right to communicate truthful, scientifically supported information to women considering abortion,” she said. 

The other bill, HB 2635, also known as the “Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression Act,” protects private, nonprofit pro-life pregnancy centers so they can continue providing “life-affirming care.” 

“Pregnancy resource centers serve women, children, and families with compassion, dignity, and life-affirming care across Kansas,” Kansas Family Voice wrote on X. “These centers save lives, strengthen families, and serve our communities with compassion.” 

The bill declares pregnancy centers can’t be required to offer abortions, offer pro-abortion counseling or be forced to display abortion advertisements. It protects the clinics’ right to provide pregnancy-related support in contrast to abortion. 

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