Kansas House Fails To Override Governor's Veto of Abortion Clinic Regulation Bill

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 03 May 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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The Kansas House on Thursday failed by two votes to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' (D) veto of a bill... (HB 2503) that would have required abortion clinics in the state to be regulated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Wichita Eagle reports (Painter, Wichita Eagle, 4/29). The measure, which was sponsored by state Rep. Peggy Long-Mast (R), would have required abortion providers to report any injuries or deaths of patients to the state health department. The measure also would have required state abortion clinics to have a medical director who is a licensed surgeon and at least one doctor with privileges at an accredited hospital. In addition, the bill would have required the state health department to establish standards for the medical screening of patients at clinics; set guidelines for equipment, supplies and medications that clinics must have for emergencies; establish space requirements for bathrooms, procedure rooms, dressing rooms and other clinics rooms; and deny, suspend or revoke clinic licenses for "substantial failure to comply" with standards. Sebelius vetoed the bill on April 15, saying that the state Legislature "has chosen pure politics over good policy, has rejected uniform standards for all procedures and has instead chosen to regulate only one procedure -- abortion."

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Both the state House and Senate originally approved the measure with enough votes to override a gubernatorial veto (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/26). However, several lawmakers -- including state Reps. Mike Peterson (D) and Tom Burroughs (D) -- changed their votes on Thursday, the Kansas City Star reports (Burhenn, Kansas City Star, 4/29). As a result, the state House voted 82-42, two votes short of the required two-thirds majority needed to send the measure to the state Senate (Manning, AP/Kansas City Star, 4/29). The bill's supporters have "promised" that they will reintroduce the measure in the next legislative session, according to the Star (Kansas City Star, 4/29).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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