Abortion

First Kansas Abortion Clinic To Be Shut Down Under New TRAP Law

Robin Marty

The state of Kansas is now down to two providers, and may soon have less.

The state of Kansas is now down its first abortion provider, as the state denied a license to Aid for Women clinic in Kansas City.

A lawyer for the Aid for Women clinic in Kansas City, Kan., said Friday that it received a notice that its application for a license had been denied by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment without an inspection. Attorney Cheryl Pilate said the clinic was looking at its legal options but would have to close, at least temporarily.

The clinic received its notice on the same day the leader of a regional Planned Parenthood chapter said inspectors who spent two days at its Overland Park clinic found it will comply with all new regulations. An inspection of the third provider is scheduled for Wednesday. All three are in the Kansas City area.

“We’re doomed,” said Dr. Herbert Hodes, who performs abortions for the third provider, the Women’s Health Center, also in Overland Park.

It seems pretty clear that the state will leave one abortion clinic open in order to fight any lawsuit claiming that the state has made access to abortion impossible, violating Roe V. Wade.  It would make the most sense to leave the Planned Parenthood clinic open, then enforce Kansas’s attempt to ban funding to the group, forcing the clinic to lay off staff and increase wait times, once more limiting women’s access to abortions.  By implementing such incremental abortion restrictions they can then say they are avoiding truly cutting off access, their obvious end goal, but make it impossible for women to get in to see a provider in time to actually terminate a pregnancy.