A judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas today issued a preliminary injunction to block a Kansas regulation (SB 36) requiring clinics within the state to obtain a license to perform abortions. If not for Judge Carlos Murguia’s decision, two of the state’s three clinics would have been forced to close, as they were unable to meet requirements from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which were issued last month and took effect on Friday.
The clinics’ inability to conform to the health department’s regulations that control aspects of their operations ranging from what drugs must be stocked to the minimum size of recovery rooms, prevented them from obtaining a license as required by SB 35, which also took effect today. The injunction stemmed from a lawsuit filed earlier this week on behalf of two doctors by the Center for Reproductive Rights, who allege that the regulations violate providers’ due process as well as place an undue burden on patients seeking abortions.
Source: JURIST