John, 

We made it through June! Last month included a special legislative session in Topeka, not one but TWO Supreme Court rulings on abortion, and the two year anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. So what happened, and what did we learn?

Kansas lawmakers didn’t pass any new abortion restrictions. 

Despite threats from legislative leadership to use personal freedom as a bargaining chip, the Special Session concluded with no new abortion restrictions. 

The Supreme Court kicked the can down the road. 

In FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the Court ruled to keep the status quo, where the safe and effective medication abortion drug Mifepristone is legal in all states where abortion is legal. The availability of Mifepristone is crucial to abortion access; in Kansas, it’s used in nearly 60% of abortions. However, extreme state attorneys general, including Kansas’ Kris Kobach, are intervening in the case, raising questions of whether a new ruling may eventually result. 

Similarly, the Court ruled in Moyle v. United States that women in Idaho can access emergency abortion care in hospitals when their lives are endangered by pregnancy. Unfortunately, this narrow ruling on the question of whether emergency patients can access life-saving abortion care does not create a precedent for the rest of the country, which ties the hands of physicians and hospital leaders from Kansas to Texas. 

Kansans observed the second anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. 

Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains reminded us on June 24 that Kansans must remain vigilant as attacks on abortion rights become more nuanced - in spite of our historic vote in 2022 and the nationwide popularity of abortion rights. In particular, restrictions on out of state travel for abortion threaten the many patients who’ve been forced from their home states to seek care in Kansas. 

We know you’re already vigilant about abortion rights in Kansas and beyond. Thank you for your commitment to freedom and democracy. Ad Astra Per Aspera,

Kansans for Constitutional Freedom