Abortion Foe Governor Signs Bill Allowing Procedure

Gov. Joan Finney, an abortion-rights foe, signed a bill Thursday that guarantees a woman’s right to abortion but requires an eight-hour waiting period and parental notification.

“I have repeatedly said I would sign legislation that restricts abortion in any way,” Finney said.

Anti-abortion advocates expressed disappointment with Finney.

“It appears that this time the governor has gone against her instincts and listened to the politicians instead of the people,” said Pat Goodson, a lobbyist for Right to Life of Kansas Inc. “Now it will be business as usual for abortionists.”

Abortion-rights supporters accepted the bill as a compromise. “It does protect a woman’s right to choose,” said Jane Gilchrist, director of the Wichita YWCA and an abortion-rights activist.

Kansas had one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the nation, requiring only that a woman obtain the consent of a doctor and go to a licensed medical facility such as a clinic. There were no limits on when an abortion could be performed.

The new law will not restrict an adult woman’s ability to obtain an abortion as long as the fetus cannot survive outside the womb.

In Wichita last summer, the national anti-abortion group Operation Rescue staged protests against a clinic that performed late-term abortions.