Dangerous and Demeaning Anti-Women’s Health Bill Passes Kansas Senate

“Let Doctors Lie” Bill Will Allow Doctors to Withhold
Critical Medical Information from Patients

Overland Park, KS — Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri expressed grave concern about the health and safety of Kansas women and families as the Kansas Senate took final measures today to pass SB 142 – a bill that will allow doctors to withhold critical medical information about a woman’s pregnancy.

“This bill allows doctors to lie to their patients and is dangerously dismissive of a woman’s right to truthful information from her doctor.  Information should support a woman, help her make a decision for herself, and enable her to take care of her own and her family’s health and well-being,” said Peter Brownlie, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

“Abortion is a deeply personal and complex decision that must be left to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the truthful counsel of her doctor or health care provider.  A woman should have accurate information about all of her options; to purposely withhold information is both demeaning and dangerous.”

BACKGROUND

New Section 1 (a) of SB 142 defines and prohibits civil action for a claim of “wrongful life” or “wrongful birth” and would allow for a medical practitioner to intentionally keep information about serious genetic or congenital abnormalities from women in an attempt to influence their decisions about their pregnancy. 

This bill jeopardizes the doctor/patient relationship and encourages doctors to omit critical medical information from conversations with their patients – information that could be life changing were it given at an appropriate time.

Without needed information, parents can neither make informed decisions about whether to end a pregnancy nor learn about their child’s condition during the course of the pregnancy so they’re prepared to be the best parents they can be.

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