One down, 49 to go
by digby
It’s official. Every abortion provider in the state of Kansas has been denied a license to continue operating as of July 1. As we reported last week, strict new state laws put in place this month threatened to close the remaining three abortion clinics in Kansas. The staff of one of these facilities, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park, initially thought their operation could survive the strict new standards. But on Thursday afternoon, Planned Parenthood announced that the Overland Park clinic has thus far been denied a license to continue operating—effectively cutting off access to legal abortion in the entire state.
The new law, which takes effect Friday, establishes new standards for abortion providers—standards apparently designed to make compliance difficult. The rules require changes to the size and number of rooms, compel clinics to have additional supplies on hand, and even mandate room temperatures for the facilities. Given that the rules were released less than two weeks before clinics were expected to be in compliance, many providers knew they wouldn’t be able to obtain a license to continue operating. The laws, often called “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” or TRAP laws, are an increasingly common legislative maneuver to limit access to abortion by redering it tough, if not impossible, for providers to comply.
It’s an old trick, actually. I’m surprised they didn’t do it earlier. It’s not a perfect analogy, but they got Al Capone for tax evasion, remember? Ends justifying the means and all that …
This will undoubtedly be challenged in the courts and the Supremes will eventually decide whether or not to throw out the “undue burden” requirement altogether. But in the meantime, Kansas women have a federally guaranteed constitutional right they cannot exercise in their home state. And I have little doubt that other states will follow.
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