TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A bill sought by abortion opponents in Kansas that also could limit access to birth control has cleared the state House.
The House voted 95-29 on Thursday to approve the measure, which is designed to give health care providers greater legal protections if they refuse to have any involvement in abortions. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Kansas already has laws that say no person or hospital can be forced to participate in abortions or sterilizations.
This year’s measure extends such protections to facilities other than hospitals and says providers couldn’t be required to refer patients for abortions or dispense abortion-inducing drugs.
The anti-abortion group Kansans for Life acknowledges the bill protects doctors or pharmacists who refuse to provide birth control if they reasonably believe it terminates pregnancies.
