abortion

Legislation that would require a 72-hour waiting period for abortions is moving forward in the Missouri House, while it's Senate counterpart is stalled.

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has temporarily lost the right to practice law in Kansas. The  suspension has no time limit.

The research, investigation and opinion on indefinite suspension of Kline's law license appears in a 154 page document issued October 18 by the Kansas Supreme Court. 

The report outlines allegations of ethical misconduct against the former Johnson County District Attorney.

A Missouri Senate Committee has passed legislation that puts restrictions on the use of abortion-inducing drugs. 

The bill would require the prescribing doctor to be physically present whenever a patient takes RU-486 or any other medication designed to terminate a pregnancy.  Supporters say it’s designed to prevent so-called “web-cam abortions,” in which a doctor at another location instructs the patient on taking the medicine.

Susan Klein of Missouri Right to Life testified in favor of the bill before the vote.

A Kansas House committee has approved a bill that is aimed at removing any state subsidies for abortion, even tax credits or exemptions.

Much of the debate focused on part of the bill that prohibits employees of an abortion provider from teaching sex education in schools. But it was written so broadly that a parent who works for an abortion provider wouldn't be allowed to volunteer in the classroom for any purpose.

Allan Rothlisberg, a Republican from Grandview Plaza, was in favor of the measure.

More than 1,000 anti-abortion advocates gathered at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in the country.

The Missouri Department of Insurance has issued its largest penalty to date, to health insurance company, Aetna. 

Prosecutors in Kansas have dropped all remaining criminal charges against Planned Parenthood.

Governor Sam Brownback is reconfiguring the size and scope of state government in Kansas with the help of an overwhelmingly conservative Republican legislature.

The discovery of hundreds of private abortion records near a school in Overland Park, Kan. has prompted a police investigation.

Two rallies in Jefferson City today each called for the repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and for employers to have the right to not provide coverage for birth control. 

A State Senate committee has passed legislation that would allow employers in Missouri to refuse insurance coverage for birth control, abortions and sterilizations – that is, if providing coverage for those services would violate the employer’s religious beliefs.

A daily digest of headlines from KCUR.

• Audit Questions Bioscience Authority’s Former President
• Anti-Abortion Activists Rally At Kansas Statehouse
• Missouri Lawmakers Look At Workplace Discrimination
• Mental Health Care Leader Retires

More than 1,000 anti-abortion activists gathered at the Kansas Statehouse today. The annual rally coincides with the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion.

By Elana Gordon

OVERLAND PARK, Ks. – As the battle over new state abortion regulations moves to federal court, other recently approved laws pertaining to abortion are now kicking in. And as KCUR's Elana Gordon reports, the laws affect how remaining abortion services are accessed in Kansas.

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Starting July 1, private health insurance companies can no longer offer elective abortion coverage in Kansas. Women can still get the coverage, but will have to purchase separate insurance riders.

By Elana Gordon

KANSAS CITY, Ks. – A federal judge has temporarily blocked Kansas from enforcing new abortion regulations that took effect Friday. The regulations, which are temporary, would have prevented two of the state's three abortion providers from continuing to offer such services.

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A new law in Kansas requires that abortion providers be licensed by the state. Health officials issued the updated licensing rules June 17. Planned Parenthood was the only place granted a license.

By Elana Gordon and Maria Carter

OVERLAND PARK, Ks. – Another Kansas abortion provider is trying to join a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking new state licensing laws and health department regulations.

Aid for Women, a clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, filed a request Wednesday to intervene in a lawsuit filed by two doctors who perform abortions at their own office.

"I'm all for patient safety," says Jeffrey Pederson, manager of Aid for Women. "This is not about patient safety. This is all about making it [accessing abortions] more difficult."

By Stephen Koranda, Kansas Public Radio

TOPEKA, Ks. – The Kansas Senate has approved a bill putting new regulations on abortion clinics in the state. The legislation would also require inspections two times per year for the clinics.

Supporters of the bill say adding the requirements and inspections will ensure the safety of women. Senator Mary Pilcher Cook, a Shawnee republican, brought the bill to the Senate floor.

By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri House passed legislation on Thursday to ban so-called "late term" abortions in the Show-Me State.

The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks unless two doctors verify that a fetus is either not viable or is a medical threat to the mother.

The sponsor, House Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R, Eureka), called abortions after 20 weeks a "barbaric practice that puts mothers at risk."

By Stephen Koranda, Kansas Public Radio

TOPEKA, Ks. – The Kansas House has given first-round approval to bills that would place more restrictions on abortion in the state. The heated debate lasted nearly two hours Wednesday. Kansas Public Radio's Stephen Koranda was there and has this report.

By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri House committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would make it illegal to abort a fetus deemed capable of living outside the womb.

The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks unless two doctors verify that a fetus is either not viable or constitutes a medical threat to the mother.

It's sponsored by House Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R, Eureka).

By Stephen Koranda, KPR

Topeka, KS – A bill filed in the Kansas House would remove an exemption from the state's ban on late abortions.

The mental health of the mother is one of the exemptions allowed under the late-term abortion ban.

Representative Steve Huebert, a Valley Center Republican, believes that reason is being overused. Huebert authored the legislation. He says the bill passed the House last year, but wasn't taken up in the Senate.

Wichita, Kan. – The sentence for the Kansas City man who killed Kansas abortion provider Doctor George Tiller is fifty years in prison at the minimum. The day-long sentencing hearing concluded after sometimes passionate testimony.

52-year-old Scott Roeder took the witness stand to try to mitigate his guilt, appealing for a lesser number of years before he can see a parole board, on a life sentence. Tiller was shot down last year as he attended Sunday worship at his church.

Jefferson City, Mo. – The Missouri House has passed a wide-ranging bill that would create new requirements surrounding abortions. The new requirements include notifying prosecutors anytime a girl younger than 18 seeks an abortion, whether she goes through with it or not.

GOP House Member Brian Nieves of Franklin County says it would reduce the number of abortions performed in Missouri.

"And hopefully, bringing to justice the sick, disgusting people that would actually rape an underage child," Nieves says.