A Kansas law asks patients why they want an abortion. But do they have to answer?

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For the past two weeks, abortion providers across Kansas have been required to ask patients why they’re terminating their pregnancy – a new rule providers say harasses women, but one that abortion opponents argue will yield valuable information.

The new survey is required under a Kansas law that took effect July 1. But patients don’t have to answer the questions.

The new law called HB 2749, mandates Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers ask patients questions about their reason for having an abortion and track when patients don’t answer. Abortion providers want to eventually block the law in court.

“If the patient declines to answer, such response shall be recorded,” the law says.

The information gathered from surveys will be compiled by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and reported to lawmakers twice a year.

The law is part of an ongoing battle between supporters and opponents of abortion over how far the Kansas Legislature can go to limit the procedure after voters affirmed abortion rights in a statewide vote in 2022.

Abortion providers are suing in Johnson County District Court to block the law, alleging it violates Kansans’ right to bodily autonomy – a right the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 is protected by the state constitution. A judge didn’t rule on the law before July 1, allowing the new requirements to go into effect, at least for now.

During the survey, patients can choose from 11 reasons why they are seeking an abortion. Those reasons include rape, incest, interference with a patient’s career or education, or threats to the patient’s physical, emotional or mental health.

The survey does not include an “other” option, a point of contention for opponents.

The law also asks patients to voluntarily disclose personal information including age, race, marital status, state of residence, and highest education level. Patients are also asked if they are experiencing abuse.

“Kansans have said again and again that they should not overreach,” said Emily Wales, the president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “And the Supreme Court continuously agrees with them. And there are few better examples of ignoring the will of the people than this law.

“The idea that we’d ask these questions to conduct research or for scientific purposes is laughable.”

Wales told reporters in the days before the law took effect that the organization was looking at how to comply with the law “in a way that causes the least trauma to our patients.”

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the law in April , calling it “invasive and unnecessary.” Her veto was easily overridden by Republicans who claimed the law would provide the Legislature with up-to-date information that could help pregnant women.

“The growing number of troubled pregnancies in our state is disturbing,” Rep. Ron Bryce, a Coffeyville Republican who sponsored the bill. “People are hurting. The Legislature should address root causes with data-driven solutions - not assumptions and opinions.”

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment this year delayed the release of its annual report until late this fall without an explanation . Because of this, some Republicans say the data will be old and less useful when it is eventually released, fueling the need for more frequent and up-to-date survey data.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who chairs the House Committee on Health and Human Services, argued that since other organizations like the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute already have similar data , the state should also have access to the current numbers.

“There are other places that already have this data,” Landwehr said. “They’re receiving it on a monthly basis from the abortion industry. So what is wrong with the state producing that same information?”

Any attempt to limit abortion in Kansas must pass a strict legal bar – one that was made even stronger after the Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed a key 2019 decision requiring abortion restrictions to clear the high legal bar.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat who is an attorney, said anti-abortion laws similar to the reporting law will continue to pass despite the ironclad abortion laws in Kansas – but that there’s a slim chance those laws will pass the Court’s rigorous standards.

“I think all of the enactments that the Legislature has made in the last 20 years targeting the right to abortion are constitutionally suspect and liable to be permanently enjoined by the courts,” Carmichael said, referencing the lawsuit in Johnson County.