Brownback signs bill restricting late-term abortions based on 'fetal pain'

April 11, 2011

Topeka — Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill restricting late-term abortions based on the presumption that a fetus feels pain after the 21st week.
Brownback planned a signing ceremony Tuesday on two sweeping bills restricting abortion.
He has already signed House Bill 2218, according to the Kansas Legislative Information Systems and Services website. The other bill, House Bill 2035, has yet to be signed, according to the website. That one requires parental consent for minors to have an abortion.
Opponents of abortion have praised the measures.
HB 2218 was landmark legislation that is already law in Nebraska, according to Kansans for Life.
And HB 2035 strengthens parental involvement for pregnant minors, improves judicial bypass protocol and “acknowledges that abortion will terminate the life of a separate, whole, unique living human being,” the group said.
Abortion rights supporters have said the measures will jeopardize the health of women.
“While rare, an abortion that takes place after 22 weeks into a pregnancy is most often necessary because of a severe fetal indication or serious medical condition that endangers the life or health of the mother,” said Peter Brownlie, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.
HB 2035 would force victims of incest or domestic violence “to navigate intricate and likely biased judicial proceedings in order to circumvent the double parental consent provision included in the bill,” said Julie Burkhart, founder and executive director of Trust Women.