Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Monday vetoed a bill that would have established in state law safety standards for abortion clinics.

Advocates of a woman’s right to an abortion praised the decision, saying that the bill was designed to trap abortion providers into violations that would put them out of business and make it more difficult for women to get an abortion.

“The only reason it was introduced was to shut down clinics and access to women’s health care services,” said Jennifer McAdam, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

But those opposed to abortion said Sebelius failed to take a serious look at the proposal because she was too beholden to the pro-choice side.

“She has cashed a lot of campaign checks from abortionists over the years,” said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life.

Culp said anti-abortion groups would try again next year to get Sebelius to sign the legislation into law. “If she really takes a hard look at the evidence, maybe she’ll get tired of defending the indefensible,” she said.

In her veto message, Sebelius, who was a strong abortion-rights advocate as a state lawmaker, did not use the word abortion.

She said health care facilities already were subjected to high standards and that the Legislature should leave it to physicians and medical personnel to set those standards.

McAdam said that was a flaw with the bill. Currently, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts oversees medical guidelines for surgical procedures, she said.

By putting specific standards into law, an anti-abortion attorney general, such as Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, could interpret laws in a way to make it tough for abortion clinics to stay open, she said. And she said there were few cases of malpractice against abortion providers to warrant such stringent requirements.

But Culp said the lack of lawsuits against abortion providers should not be construed as evidence they weren’t making mistakes. She said many women remained silent about complications from abortions because they didn’t want it known that they underwent the procedure.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said the Legislature would attempt to override Sebelius’ veto when the session reconvened April 30.

But Culp said “the raw numbers” were not there to override.

The bill passed 87-33 in the House and 24-16 in the Senate. In the 125-member House, 84 votes are needed to override a veto, while in the 40-member Senate, the move requires 27 votes.