New legislation would redefine fetuses as Kansas children
TOPEKA — A new bill would change Kansas law to allow pregnant women to claim child support for medical and pregnancy-related expenses, starting any time after the date of conception.
Critics say the bill is a blatant attempt to sneak the anti-abortion concept of “fetal personhood” into the state, where Kansas voters have previously upheld abortion rights. Fetal personhood is the idea that life begins at the fertilization of an egg and that fetuses should be given legal rights and protections.
Reproductive rights advocates as well as medical professionals have pushed back forcefully.
“This is a tactic that is used to make it easier to enact anti-abortion laws down the road,” said Taylor Morton of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes. “It is in direct opposition to broad public support for abortion access in Kansas. Furthermore, you know, the lack of clarity in this bill really makes it unworkable.”
Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, requested the introduction of Senate Bill 425, heard Monday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill would amend a Kansas family statute to include “unborn children” under the legal definition of child. Any embryo “in utero, at any stage of gestation,” starting from the moment of fertilization, would be considered an unborn child. Courts would be required to add medical and pregnancy-related expenses to the list of factors they consider when adopting rules for child support. The legislation also specifies these expenses cannot include any costs related to “elective abortions.”
Anti-abortion groups spoke in favor of the legislation during Monday’s hearing.
“We believe that every life is valuable and that every woman should be surrounded by a system of support during her pregnancy,” said Brittany Jones director of policy and engagement for anti-abortion organization Kansas Family Voice.
Mackenzie Haddix, spokeswoman for anti-abortion group Kansans for Life, said the change could cut down on abortion by offering prospective mothers financial assistance.
“Overall, no woman should ever feel that abortion is her only option,” Haddix said.
Kansas doesn’t include provisions for unborn children because parental relationships aren’t legally established until after a child is born and paternity confirmed. Pregnancy-related costs are settled through judgments after a child is born.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Kansas has become one of the few states left in the region that protects abortion rights. State law allows abortions up to 22 weeks after gestation and after that if the mother’s life is in danger.
The Kansas Supreme Court in 2019 determined the state constitution’s right to bodily autonomy extends to the decision to terminate a pregnancy. Voters in August of 2022 overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to ban abortion without exception.
The GOP-dominated Legislature has continued to put forward anti-abortion legislation despite widespread state support for abortion rights.
Sen. Ethan Corson, D-Prairie Village, warned fellow lawmakers about the reach of the bill during the hearing.
“It strikes me that enshrining fetal personhood into our statutes would have far-reaching implications on a whole host of civil and criminal laws, and I’m not sure that the committee has a good grasp on that,” Corson said. “I’d like to just have a better understanding of the fetal personhood aspects of this legislation.”
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