Kansas Supreme Court issues two rulings regarding abortion access

The Kansas state Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion in two major rulings on Friday, including one that overturned a previous ruling that limited access to abortions. 

The court determined that the state constitution does protect a woman's right to personal autonomy, which includes decisions about her own health, body and family planning, per The Hill. The rulings come two years after the Supreme Court returned the matter of abortion back to individual states.

One case was filed in 2015, and sought to overturn a state law that banned dilation and evacuation abortions, except for when necessary to save the life of the mother. The procedure is considered the state's most common form of abortion during the second trimester. 

The justices in a 5-1 ruling determined that the law was unconstitutional because of a 2019 ruling that the state constitution protects personal autonomy, including in pregnancy.

“The State devoted much of its brief to inviting us to reverse our earlier ruling in this case that the Kansas Constitution protects a right to abortion. We decline the invitation,” Justice Eric S. Rosen wrote in the majority opinion.

The state court also struck down a law from 2011 that imposed regulations on facilities that provide abortions, including hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers that perform second or third trimester abortions, or at least five first term abortions each month. The regulations included a requirement that a physician is in the room whenever a drug to induce an abortion was administered to a patient. 

Other abortion cases are still pending in the lower courts, including challenges to requirements regarding a 24-hour waiting period and what a provider must tell patients, according to the Associated Press.