A bill passed by Kansas lawmakers would make it a crime to coerce someone into an abortion

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — People who make physical or financial threats against others in Kansas to force them to get an abortion could spend a year in prison and be fined up to $10,000 under one of several proposals pushed through the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Abortion opponents in Kansas pursued the measure against abortion “coercion,” increased reporting on abortion and aid to anti-abortion centers providing free counseling, supplies and other services to pregnant women and new mothers because of the state’s unusual legal climate. While the Legislature has strong anti-abortion majorities, the state Supreme Court declared in 2019 that the state constitution protects abortion rights, and Kansas residents decisively affirmed that position in a statewide August 2022 vote.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is a strong supporter of abortion rights, and many lawmakers expect her to veto all the anti-abortion measures reaching her desk. All the proposals appear to have or be close to having the two-thirds majorities necessary in both chambers to override a veto.

“The vast majority of Kansans agree that too many women feel abortion is their only choice,” Danielle Underwood, a spokesperson for Kansans for Life, the state’s most politically influential anti-abortion group, said in an email Tuesday.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> As medical perils from abortion bans grow, so do opportunities for Democrats in a post-Roe world </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline