Anti-Choice Legislation Progresses in Kansas; Utah Votes to Improve Access to Emergency Contraception
This week, state legislatures advanced legislation both helpful and harmful to women’s reproductive health.
On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill requiring providers to report to the state on medical diagnoses for particular abortion procedures. In addition, this bill inserts politics into the doctor-patient relationship by requiring that doctors inform certain patients that the procedure will terminate a “whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
On Monday, the Utah House of Representatives approved legislation requiring medical facilities to provide sexual assault victims with information about emergency contraception. If passed, this bill would require doctors to give victims scientifically accurate verbal and written information about emergency contraception, as well as inform victims of where to go to for appropriate treatment if it is not available at their facility.