April 15 (UPI) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed anti-abortion legislation that passed the state Legislature by wide margins.
Kelly on Friday issued the veto of House Bill 2313, which officially requires doctors to use life support in the event of a situation where an abortion results in a fetus being “born alive.”
She asserted the scenario described by advocates of the legislation is not realistic. Under current laws, Kansas only allows abortion up to 22 weeks into pregnancy unless circumstances where the life of the fetus or mother is in danger.
“Federal law already protects newborns, and the procedure being described in this bill does not exist in Kansas in the era of modern medicine,” Kelly said in her veto statement. “The intent of this bill is to interfere in medical decisions that should remain between doctors and their patients.”
Kelly’s veto is likely to be overridden because the measure passed the House of Representatives by a wide 86-36 margin and the Senate on a 31-9 vote.
Democratic State Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes also emphasized the potential redundancy of the legislation, which she said could result in a birth where the child has no chance of survival and would suffer on futile life support.
“It simply does not happen,” Sykes said in a statement to the Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal. “The reality is that this legislation would harm mothers and health care teams who will be forced by statute to attempt care that will not change a tragic outcome, rather than provide families the dignity to grieve in peace.”
Republican Kansas Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, meanwhile, blasted Kelly’s veto, saying in a statement, “This veto gives abortionists free reign to walk away as a living, breathing baby dies.”
