Abortion Access Information

Now that the “Value Them Both” amendment has been defeated in Kansas on August 2nd, 2022, we can’t expect that group to accept the vote and stop spewing propaganda. We want the truth about civil rights to bodily autonomy and privacy of reproductive health care to continue to spread throughout the country, as this important nonpartisan issue is taken up state by state.

To that end, here are some science-based answers to counter the false “FAQ” statements on the VTB website:

The first untrue premise Is that abortion care is unregulated, and a constitutional amendment was necessary to put regulations in place that would protect people undergoing an abortion procedure. This allegation is FALSE. All clinics are held to standards produced at the federal level by OSHA and the FDA, and any provider found to be violating these safety standards should be reported and held accountable. Separate state regulations are not necessary and merely create additional barriers to safe care for pregnant people.

The second untrue allegation is that overturning the 2019 KS Supreme Court ruling, which protected abortion care under the principle of Bodily Autonomy, was necessary to prevent widespread changes in the current legislation governing abortion care. (As an aside, autonomy is one of the pillars of medical ethics taught in every medical and nursing school and must not be thrown aside without regard for the rights of our patients.) The same state laws have been in place since 2013 without any attempt on the part of abortion providers to change them. The only reason the issue came before the 2019 KS Supreme Court was that the legislators at that time brought new laws forward that would have restricted the use of D & E, a procedure used between 14 and 22 weeks to end pregnancy under specific medical circumstances, which is the safest, most expedient way to end a complicated pregnancy. The Supreme Court called the NEW proposed law unconstitutional but did not remove any legislation currently in place. 

Additionally, the VTB promoters hammer away at “painful dismemberment abortions” and will frequently show a video of a D & E procedure to back up their vitriolic propaganda. To this, I say 1) There is NO scientific evidence that the undeveloped brain of a fetus at 14-22 weeks can mentally process “pain.” 2) Many medical/surgical procedures appear gruesome to the lay public but are necessary as a life-saving measure despite how they may appear. I make the comparison to an amputation of an infected limb or the enucleation of a cancerous eye. Would I show a potentially disturbing video of these procedures in an attempt to garner sympathy for a political position? Never.

A favorite misconception by the VTB promoters is that tax dollars will fund abortion if not curtailed by a constitutional amendment. There is already both federal and state-level legislation that prevents this from happening. In Kansas, even PRIVATE insurance is prohibited from paying for pregnancy termination care except in the case of life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancy.

VTB proponents want to tell you that keeping the current laws in place amounts to a “slippery slope” that will eventually allow termination of pregnancy until moments before birth. This is the most flagrant lie of all. In the case of a pregnancy that has reached viability, if we are forced to deliver the pregnancy to save a pregnant person’s life, that’s what we do! Deliver the baby, hand them off to our pediatric colleagues, and continue to care for the mother. There is also a constant reference to “Partial Birth Abortion,” which is not a medical procedure practiced in Kansas or taught in OB/GYN residency. It is a horrifying, false allegation made up to sway voters on an emotional basis but has no grounding in actual medical practice.

VTB wants to claim that future legislation (see HB2746, a failed piece of legislation that was brought forward in 2022 and is the end game of the VTB crowd by their own recorded statements) would have exceptions for rape and incest, and other extreme situations. The truth is that the treatment for ectopic pregnancy, septicemia from uterine infection, and hemorrhage for an incomplete miscarriage are all the same process as a pregnancy termination in any other circumstances, and you can’t legislate one without the other. HB2746, waiting in the wings for the amendment to pass, stated that life begins at FERTILIZATION and included felony charges for IVF physicians who do not implant every embryo despite the wishes of the family that created them. It also had NO exception for rape or incest, regardless of the age of the victim of sexual assault. They will tell you that the amendment would not create an abortion ban, but it WOULD remove the Kansas Supreme Court ruling that kept this dangerous bill from coming out of committee.

Finally, though the VTB website FAQ page has false statements describing pregnancy terminations as not following informed consent or parental consent processes, in Kansas, there is a lengthy, state-mandated informed consent process (including a real-time ultrasound). Minors must also have parental consent, both of which are followed by a 24-hour waiting period to try to dissuade someone from going through with a pregnancy termination.