A Kansas judge on Monday ordered a preliminary injunction blocking the state law that requires doctors to inform patients about the medical issues surrounding abortion while a legal challenge to the law is heard in court, Reuters reported.
The law, which passed in April, requires healthcare providers to notify patients that it “may be possible to reverse” the effect of abortion medications and inform patients of the possible link between abortion and breast cancer.
Johnson County District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram said on Monday that the law violates a patient’s right to an abortion, which the Kansas Supreme Court recognized in 2019, and violates the free speech rights of healthcare providers.
The judge’s preliminary injunction will remain in place as he considers the lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in the state.
Attorney Alice Wang from the Center for Reproductive Rights, who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the judge’s injunction removed the “paternalistic barriers” that have for too long restricted access to abortion.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Caleb Dalton, who is representing the state of Kansas, said in a statement that the people of Kansas are correct in wanting to “protect maternal health and safety” as well as the “lives of the unborn.” Dalton vowed that the state would continue to defend the interests of Kansans.
Planned Parenthood and other Kansas abortion providers sued the state in June, arguing that the law forces doctors to spread disinformation and promote “potentially dangerous” and “experimental” treatments.
According to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence supporting the idea that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer.
Likewise, there has been only one controlled trial studying the possible reversal of abortion pills but it was halted after three of the 12 patients in the study experienced severe bleeding and were hospitalized.
In Kansas, abortion is legal during the first 22 weeks of pregnancy. Last August, Kansas voters rejected a referendum to remove the right to abortion from the state constitution.
