Kansas Judge Eliminates 30 Years of Informed Consent Laws

I put off commenting on Judge Christopher Jayaram’s decision last Monday striking down Kansas’s Woman’s Right to Know Act, because his astonishing comment that eliminating nearly 30 years of commonsense protections “wasn’t even a close call” left me almost speechless.

“The set of informed consent mandates had already been paused under a temporary injunction Jayaram issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood in 2023,” according to Bridget Sielicki.

Judge Jayaram’s 270 page decision in Hodes & Nauser v. Kobach came after three years of litigation, a two-part, seven-day bench trial, and going on a year to put his thoughts in order. It also happened to come just hours before leaving his position as a Johnson County judge to take a new one as a Kansas Supreme Court justice.

SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!

“The timing of this ruling is deeply troubling,” said Mackenzie Ayers, Director of Communications for Kansans for Life.

“After waiting more than ten months to issue a decision, Judge Jayaram waited until just hours before being sworn in to the Kansas Supreme Court to strike down the Woman’s Right to Know Act, eliminating nearly 30 years of commonsense protections that helped ensure women received the information they needed before making a life-altering decision.”

Among the provisions Jayaram permanently enjoined were

*Prior to an abortion, a 24-hour waiting period, along with a 24 hour disclosure detailing the risks related to abortion

*A requirement that the abortionist listen to the baby’s heartbeat 30 minutes prior to the abortion.

*A requirement that women be told that a medication abortion might be reversible—Abortion Pill Reversal.

*A requirement that abortionists ask women why they are seeking an abortion.

All these provisions, and others, were reversed (take your pick) because they were supposedly “an unjustified intrusion into private medical decision‑making”; “erects barriers to timely care”; “violates their [the abortionist’s]  speech rights and distorts the doctor‑patient relationship”; are “coercive, medically unjustified, and infringes upon the patient’s autonomy,” etc., etc., etc.

Ayers concluded, “The ruling leaves women even more vulnerable to a predatory abortion industry that consistently puts its own profits ahead of women. Kansans for Life will continue advocating for compassionate, commonsense policies that protect mothers and babies while educating Kansans about the risks posed by the abortion industry.”

LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. He frequently writes Today’s News and Views — an online opinion column on pro-life issues.