TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas will specifically prohibit nurse-midwives from performing abortions or administering abortion-inducing drugs, starting next year.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Friday that includes the prohibition while rewriting laws regulating multiple health care professions.

The changes will allow nurse-midwives to practice independently within a limited scope of care starting next year instead of requiring an agreement with a licensed physician. The changes also establish new rules for acupuncture.

The anti-abortion group Kansans for Life pushed for the language prohibiting midwives from terminating pregnancies.

Some legislators noted that the scope of care allowed independent midwives already was limited to services associated with normal, uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries.

But Kansans for Life said the language still was broad enough that abortion providers could argue that it covered ending pregnancies.