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Kansas Abortion Provider Denied License; Another Files Suit

By Elana Gordon

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-975434.mp3

OVERLAND PARK, Ks. – Kansas may soon be the only state where women can't get an abortion. A new law requires that clinics which provide abortions be licensed by the state. Officials recently indicated no existing abortion providers have met the new state licensing rules, which take effect Friday. But as KCUR's Elana Gordon reports, the measure is being challenged in federal court.

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There are currently three abortion providers in the state of Kansas. Aid for Women, located in Kansas City, Kansas, already received word they don't meet the new licensing requirements.

State health officials later said no clinics they've inspected meet the new standards. Planned Parenthood in Overland Park was inspected last week.

The third provider, Dr. Herbert Hodes and his daughter, Dr. Traci Nauser, of the Center for Women's Health, were supposed to be inspected today. But they've cancelled the inspection and instead filed a federal lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality and logic of the new rules.

Dr. Hodes says the rules, which were updated less than two weeks ago, were issued too quickly. And, he says, they're purely political.

"The obvious origin of these regulations are certainly non-medical, as shown by the equipment and drugs that we're required to have on hand that are outmoded, inefficient, and beneath the standard of care," says Hodes.

Dr. Nauser says that includes having pediatric resuscitation equipment, even though they don't treat children. She also says the two would have to rebuild most of their facility to meet new rules for procedure, recovery and closet room sizes.

Dr. Robert Moser, director of the Kansas Department of Health, says patient safety has been the top priority in the licensing process, and that the new regulations are designed to ensure Kansans receive the highest standard of care.

All three abortion providers in Kansas are located in the Kansas City region. If shut down, the next nearest clinic would be in Columbia, Missouri.

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