Kansas Abortions Drop 5 Percent, Hundreds Of Unborn Babies Saved

KDHE, the state health department, released preliminary annual data on abortions performed in Kansas, showing a 5.4% decrease overall from 7,885 in 2011 to 7,457 abortions in 2012. This is the lowest state total since 1987, two years after all abortion providers were legally mandated to report. The total was divided between 3,661 obtained by residents and 3,796 by non-residents.

143 women were certified for abortion at Kansas clinics this year and did not return to obtain the procedure, compared to 182 in 2011. KDHE does not collect reasons for these “no-returns.” Kansas requires “Woman’s Right to Know” (WRTK) informed consent materials be accessed 24 hours prior to abortion, whether received from the abortion clinic at her initial visit, or through the state hotline, or just by viewing online at https://www.womansrighttoknow.org.

It is not unreasonable to surmise that the WRTK materials both contribute to “no-returns” as well as deter some women from ever entering a clinic. A woman contemplating abortion may fear a lack of support for her pregnancy needs, or be responding to subtle or overt pressure from her family or the father of the child. In the WRTK info, she finds:

fetal development explanations with high definition real-time sonography; a directory of statewide locations for free individual ultrasounds and 80 pregnancy maintenance centers; links to assistance for medically-challenging pregnancies; warnings that coerced abortions are illegal.

OTHER STATS:
All categories saw a decrease except “RU486″ abortions by pill, which rose from 20% to 30% of total Kansas abortions. This rate exceeds the 2012 CDC chemical abortion national average of 17.4%. Kansas enacted a ban on chemical abortion obtained “by webcam” in the 2011 clinic regulation law, which is not in effect due to litigation.

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