Topeka ? A bill strengthening regulation of abortion clinics advanced in the Senate after anti-abortion members narrowly thwarted an effort to rewrite the measure to satisfy Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius, who supports abortion rights, has said she probably wouldn’t sign the legislation if it applied only to abortion clinics but would accept a bill that imposed the same regulation of minor surgeries on all doctors’ offices.

But senators voted 20-19 against a proposal for broader regulation, which was offered as an amendment. On a voice vote, the Senate gave first-round approval to the narrower bill.

The measure would require abortion clinics to obtain an annual license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. It also would set minimum health and safety standards and require the KDHE to impose other rules.

Senators plan to take final action on the bill today. The House approved a version last week and must consider a technical change made by a Senate committee. Further House review is seen as a formality that won’t keep the measure from going to Sebelius.

Supporters argued abortions often are performed under unsafe conditions, without strong regulation.

Critics suggested the real goal is to limit access to abortion. They said the bill could be burdensome enough to shut down some of the state’s seven clinics that provide abortions.

Sebelius vetoed a similar bill in 2003. Supporters don’t know whether they’ll have the 27 votes necessary to override a veto in the 40-member Senate. In the House, the bill had 87 votes, or three more than the two-thirds majority required for an override.