Planned Parenthood Statement on Senate Bill 95 House Debate

Topeka, KS — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri today responded to the House debate on and impending passage of Senate bill 95. 

“Members of the House today made clear that they are willing to put the health of women in Kansas at risk in order to advance their extreme political agenda. The bill substitutes the will of a specific group of politicians who want to ban all abortion in Kansas for the expertise of doctors who need to be able to treat each of their patients individually and according to the most stringent medical standards,” said Laura McQuade, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.”

Every major medical authority the world over – American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – urges the importance of allowing physicians to exercise their best medical judgment in providing abortion services to women. “This legislation could force physicians to provide substandard care to their patients. The bill not only fails to improve women’s health and safety but puts them in harm’s way by denying doctors the ability to provide the safest care available for their patients based on their individual medical circumstances,” Ms. McQuade continued.

Planned Parenthood strives to ensure that every individual has the knowledge, opportunity, and freedom to make informed private decisions about reproductive and sexual health. Planned Parenthood has concerns about many health provisions within the bill and their potential constitutional implications. Women seeking reproductive health care in Kansas need the best care they can get from providers in their community. They do not need interference and judgment from politicians.

“As they consider final action on the bill, we urge House members to move away from this agenda of punishing women as they seek to lead the fullest lives they can, and instead strive to advance the health of women and families in the state by increasing access to affordable birth control and comprehensive, evidence-based sex education,” Ms. McQuade concluded.

Planned Parenthood will continue to fight for the needs of the women in Kansas, against Senate Bill 95, and to expose all extreme political measures aimed at denying women access to health care and at undermining their decision-making ability under the guise of protecting their health and safety. And, as always, we will continue to be here to provide high quality health care to Kansas women and families.

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Planned Parenthood is a vital resource for our community and for women and families throughout Kansas and Missouri. We are a trusted advocate and source of health care and education for thousands of women, men, and children. For 80 years, women have relied on Planned Parenthood to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy.