The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Western Missouri and Kansas filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging a new Kansas state law prohibiting insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in their health plans.
"Politicians should not interfere in what should remain a private medical decision," said Kari Ann Rinker, state coordinator for the Kansas chapter of the National Organization for Women, in a prepared statement. "For too long, my home state of Kansas has been the epicenter of an effort to erode a woman's access to abortion. Enough is enough."
Under the law, insurance companies are prohibited from offering coverage for abortions, other than those to save a woman's life. The law does allow insurance companies to offer a separate rider for the non-lifesaving abortions, for an additional premium, but many state insurers have indicated they don't intend to offer them.
The Kansas law is one of five abortion laws passed by the state's legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, a vocal opponent of abortion rights.
Laws targeting abortion are not restricted to Kansas, however. Laws in Indiana and North Carolina passed this year have targeted Planned Parenthood, restricting their funding if they provide abortions. In Texas, Republican Gov. Rick Perry recently signed a law requiring women to receive a sonogram and a description of the fetus prior to an abortion.
Lawsuits brought on behalf of Planned Parenthood have thus far successfully blocked the efforts to choke state funding.
"(The Kansas) law is part of a nationwide trend to take away insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure that is an important part of basic healthcare for women," said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, in a press release. "Many things can happen in a pregnancy that are beyond a woman's control, so having insurance coverage for abortion ensures that every woman can get the healthcare she may need."
Proponents of the law in Kansas feel confident the law will stand up in court and bristled at the ACLU's challenge.
"There seems to be a pattern here of suing voters when they express their preferences through elections," Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokesperson for Gov. Brownback told the Kansas City Star. "Those who fail at the ballot box are turning to the courts to advance their agenda. We will uphold the law as written by the people who express their sovereignty through their elected representatives."