Editors note: The story has been updated to include a statement released late Friday from Senator Pat Roberts.
WASHINGTON – Members of the Kansas congressional delegation issued statements Friday after the Kansas Supreme Court declared the state constitution protects abortion rights. The Kansas decision prevents the state from enforcing a 2015 law that could have greatly limited second trimester abortions.
In a statement Friday afternoon, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran said.
“I am saddened by today’s State Supreme Court decision. An unborn child is a distinct human being and our laws should defend its right to life. This decision underscores the urgent need for federal legislation that will protect innocent life at all stages, and I will continue working to see such legislation achieved.”
I am disappointed in the activist Kansas Supreme Court’s decision that in Kansas an unborn child has, literally, no right to life.
— Senator Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) April 27, 2019
Today, the Kansas Supreme Court violated the sanctity of life and denied the rights of the unborn in our state. It’s plain wrong and deeply shameful. (1/3
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) April 26, 2019
Today, radical and out-of-touch justices on the Kansas Supreme Court have cleared the way for the barbaric practice of dismemberment abortions and opened the door for even more extreme late-term abortions in our state. https://t.co/0Ry9w4zneR
— Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) April 26, 2019
The Kansas Supreme Court ruling on abortion is another example of moral degradation in our country. I will continue to fight for federal legislation to protect our most vulnerable. #ksleg #ks02 #prolife
— Rep. Steve Watkins (@Rep_Watkins) April 26, 2019
Rep. @ShariceDavids: “Today’s ruling reaffirms a woman’s fundamental right to make her own decisions about her body and health care…I continue to fight to ensure Kansas women and families have access to a full range of health care services they need.” https://t.co/pYGqVuS7aZ
— Kansas Dems (@KansasDems) April 26, 2019
The court ruling clears the way for legal challenges to a string of abortion restrictions approved in recent years by state lawmakers under past Republican governors.
The court said vague language protecting “equal and inalienable rights” in the first section of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights grants a “natural right of personal autonomy” that includes the right to “control one’s own body.” Because that right is independent of the U.S. Constitution, Kansas courts could strike down restrictions that have been upheld by the federal courts.
“This right allows a woman to make her own decisions regarding her body, health, family formation, and family life — decisions that can include whether to continue a pregnancy,” the court’s unsigned majority opinion said.
Justices ruled 6-1 on the language in state constitution. Justice Caleb Stegall, the only appointee of a conservative Republican governor, declared in his dissenting opinion that the ruling “fundamentally alters the structure of our government” to “arbitrarily grant a regulatory reprieve” for abortion.
The ruling immediately prompted abortion opponents to call for amending the state constitution. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who took office in January, is a strong abortion-rights supporter, but the Legislature still has solid anti-abortion majorities.