Downlo

It’s official. Every abortion provider in the state of Kansas has been denied a license to continue operating as of July 1. As we reported last week, strict new state laws put in place this month threatened to close the remaining three abortion clinics in Kansas. […]

The new law, which takes effect Friday, establishes new standards for abortion providers—standards apparently designed to make compliance difficult. The rules require changes to the size and number of rooms, compel clinics to have additional supplies on hand, and even mandate room temperatures for the facilities. Given that the rules were released less than two weeks before clinics were expected to be in compliance, many providers knew they wouldn’t be able to obtain a license to continue operating. The laws, often called “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” or TRAP laws, are an increasingly common legislative maneuver to limit access to abortion by rendering it tough, if not impossible, for providers to comply.

The story is still developing, but the prospects for keeping abortion clinics open in Kansas seem grim.

Great job, Kansas! If this new law has the effect that anti-choice legislators intended, then you’ll be the first state to outlaw de facto a constitutional right. The tactics anti-choicers are using to undermine reproductive choice reminds me of grandfather clauses and poll taxes in the Jim Crow south. A right is worthless if the state does everything in its power to make it inaccessible to you.

ETA: Update here.