Abortion Foes Seek Ban on Dismemberment Procedure

Abortion opponents want Kansas lawmakers to ban a procedure they say accounts for about 8 percent of all abortions in the state.

Kansans for Life and state Sen. Garrett Love, a Montezuma Republican, on Wednesday announced a measure crafted by the National Right to Life Committee that would ban abortions using what they called the “dismemberment” method.

Kansans for Life lobbyist Jeanne Gawdun says 578 abortions were performed in the state in 2013 using a “dilation and extraction” procedure that she says is common for second-trimester abortions.

The Legislature passed a measure in 2011 that banned abortions in the state after the 21st week.

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri spokeswoman Elise Higgins says the measure is an attempt to pass an unconstitutional early abortion ban that her organization opposes.