Half of Kansas abortions on visitors / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, April 7, 2008

Many women cross state line for procedure, especially in late term

By Christine Metz

April 7, 2008

Illustration by Karl Gehring

Kansas abortion statistics

For the past decade, almost half of the abortions performed in Kansas have been for women who didn't live here.

They come from far as California, Maine and even Alaska. But mostly they just cross over the state line from Missouri.

Data recently released by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment show that last year was no different. Of the 10,836 abortions done in Kansas in 2007, 5,162 (about 48 percent) were performed on women who lived outside of the state.

Those on both sides of the abortion issue have theories for why the out-of-state numbers are so high and what it adds to the debate in Kansas.

Most of the out-of-state numbers are attributed to the lack of abortion providers in Missouri.

Other contributing factors are the differences in state laws, especially in regard to those under age 18, and the late-term abortions performed by Wichita-based Dr. George Tiller.

Location, location, location

It's a matter of geography and convenience, said Stanley Henshaw, senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, a national think tank for sexual and reproductive health issues.

"The (women) going out of Kansas for the most part aren't going out in order to avoid the state's restrictive laws and neither are the ones coming into the state," Henshaw said.

Kansas' abortion laws don't differ dramatically from its neighbors.' However, it sees its largest out-of-state patients from them.

Almost 90 percent of all out-of-state patients are from Missouri. Another 5 percent are from Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said a major factor is that all three of the surgical abortion providers in the Kansas City metro area are in Kansas.

The next closest surgical center is in Columbia, Mo., which apart from the St. Louis area is the only place in Missouri where abortions are performed.

Two years ago, a clinic in Springfield, Mo., closed, sending even more women into Kansas.

In 2006, 40 percent of all the abortions performed on Missouri women were done in Kansas.

"There is a lack of physicians who are willing to step forward and take the kinds of risks involved, both personal and physical risks," Brownlie said.

Also, it is not rare for women seeking anonymity or the support of a friend or relative in a far-off city to leave their home state for the operation. And there are college students attending school outside of their home state, he said.

In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Kansas had more women come from outside its borders for abortions than any other state. Only the District of Columbia's numbers were higher.

Planned Parenthood's Overland Park clinic is among those that see the patients crossing over the Missouri line.

"It just demonstrates that if a woman is pregnant at a time she wasn't planning or intending to be and she is determined not to continue the pregnancy, many will go to great lengths to obtain abortion care if that is what is best for them," Brownlie said.

Late-term abortions

Two of Kansas' high-profile anti-abortion organizations point to Tiller's clinic in Wichita as the main reason for the out-of-state numbers.

Tiller's practice, one of the few in the country that offers late-term abortions, draws women from both coasts and many places in between.

In 2007, as in years past, abortions performed past 22 weeks of pregnancy made up a small percentage of Kansas' overall total, less than 4 percent. Yet more than 90 percent of the women getting late-term abortions were from outside Kansas.

Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, said he moved the organization from Los Angeles to Wichita because of the number of women coming into what he calls the abortion capital of the world.

Under Kansas law, as in many other states, abortions can't be performed past the 22-week mark unless a women's life or health is at risk. Both physical and mental health are considered in the determination.

Newman and other anti-abortion organizations have claimed Tiller has continuously broken Kansas law by performing late-term abortions when there was no threat of a "substantial or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."

A Sedgwick County grand jury subpoenaed the medical files of 2,000 of Tiller's patients. On Tuesday, the Kansas Supreme Court will hear three cases challenging those subpoenas.

"The lion's share of his business comes from out-of-state clientele because he is willing to circumvent the laws in this state," Newman said.

Brownlie and Henshaw, however, say Tiller provides a service - abortions for women carrying a fetus that will die shortly after birth and for those with fetal abnormalities.

In the past two years, women have come from 48 states, Canada and Puerto Rico to have abortions in Kansas.

"There isn't very much need nationally for abortions past 20 weeks. You don't need a lot of facilities," Henshaw said.

Brownlie said that when he was director of a Fort Worth, Texas, Planned Parenthood he would refer patients to Tiller's clinic for services the women couldn't receive in Texas.

Restrictions on Tiller's practice have national implications, Henshaw said.

"If Kansas succeeds in making it impossible to provide that service, that affects women in a lot of other states," he said.

Minors

While Kansas abortion laws are similar to its neighbors', one difference is clear. In Oklahoma and Missouri, minors must have a parent's permission before getting an abortion. In Kansas, a parent just has to be told before a minor has an abortion.

In 2006, for abortions performed on girls under age 15, more were from out of state (39) than from Kansas (28).

"We have a definite weakness in our law pertaining to minors," said Mary Kay Culp, Kansans for Life executive director.

Henshaw has done studies that show an increase in women going out of state when more restrictive laws are passed. When Mississippi passed a law requiring two trips to a clinic before an abortion was performed, more women went to Tennessee and Alabama if they lived near the state border. The same was true for a law requiring a parent's consent for minors wanting abortions.

"I think there are some cases where state requirements have made it more difficult to provide services and therefore there are fewer facilities," Henshaw said. "And that can theoretically cause women to travel to other states."

Discussion

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7 April 2008
at 1:45 a.m.

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toe (Anonymous) says…

As big as you think, is the wrong slogan. Drop them in Kansas, would seem more appropriate.
7 April 2008
at 5:51 a.m.

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classclown (Anonymous) says…

Who says Kansas doesn't have a tourism industry?
7 April 2008
at 7:16 a.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

If we work really hard I am sure we can overtake DC, lets do it for the children! Wait, that's not right.
7 April 2008
at 7:43 a.m.

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jonas (Anonymous) says…

classclown: Something of a serious topic, but you made me chuckle a little bitsy.
7 April 2008
at 7:56 a.m.

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Informed (Anonymous) says…

I was thinking the same thing, classclown. But my thoughts were more like “how shameful that we have a tourism trade for killing babies!”
7 April 2008
at 8:11 a.m.

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bondmen (Anonymous) says…

If the culture of death had not so deeply penetrated the minds of our young people maybe those not wishing to have a baby of their own would pass the blessing on to a couple desiring a child of their own; or give the gift of life to their child via an orphanage. No good comes from an abortion, only sorrow and death.Brainwashed to kill first and ask questions later they eliminate their own flesh in a bloody sacrifice on the altar of choice. Pro choice (to kill) people are wiping out the next generation of pro choice voters; making abortion a self correcting societal atrocity where the innocent are eliminated to cover up the errors made by their sexually active, unprepared parents.
7 April 2008
at 9:02 a.m.

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HodgePodge (Erin Parmelee) says…

I think all it proves is that women are willing to travel for a safe and legal abortion. What am I missing?

7 April 2008
at 9:25 a.m.

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puppyfeathers (Anonymous) says…

y'know it's not too late to abort some of these self righteous, bible thumpers. Too bad it's illegal though. It seems that these clowns are so blinded by their faith that all they care about is American fetuses in utero of women that they have zero personal connection with. When was the last time anyone heard about these guys giving this much energy in support of kids that are already here? Besides, abortions have been happening for centuries for reasons stemming from medical emergencies and complications, religion, to incest and rape. Does anyone think that it's gonna stop now just because a few loud mouths are saying that abortion doesn't get approval from their own personal fairy tale, er.. I mean religion?
7 April 2008
at 11:37 a.m.

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alm77 (Anonymous) says…

“When was the last time anyone heard about these guys giving this much energy in support of kids that are already here?” - Um, every single day. I know tons of couple who have adopted, or worked in youth homes (my husband included), or who became foster parents or volunteer at school.
7 April 2008
at 1:37 p.m.

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absolutelyridiculous (Anonymous) says…

puppy…if you know so much about the history of abortion have you seriously considered what your so called “Bible Thumpers” perspective might be or the truth that they have found in their “religion”? Obviously from your vast intellect that you present, you must have studied both sides of the issue and have come to this conclusion. Oh…I know you next line will be “but there is no God”. You are predictable and your argument is shallow.
7 April 2008
at 1:49 p.m.

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absolutelyridiculous (Anonymous) says…

well said parkay.
7 April 2008
at 2:12 p.m.

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HodgePodge (Erin Parmelee) says…

parkay (Anonymous) says: … when her parents brought her to Tiller's filthy, unsafe, Wichita abortion mill…….––––––––––––––––––––––––-Gee Parkay, what is more “filthy and unsafe”? A doctors office, or a back alley?
7 April 2008
at 3:55 p.m.

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absolutelyridiculous (Anonymous) says…

Read this story and experience at tillers killer mill. This was released today. God helps us for allowing this genocide to keep happening over and over again. http://www.kfl.org/SiteResources/Data…
7 April 2008
at 3:56 p.m.

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RedwoodCoast (Anonymous) says…

Regardless of whether or not it is legal, women wil still do it. Better it done safely than by an untrained guy with a clotheshanger.
7 April 2008
at 4:01 p.m.

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prospector (Anonymous) says…

HodgePodge , The butter substitute has never answered a question posed him to my knowledge. Just think, “There is nothing to see here.” and blow on past him, because he repeats himself a lot.

7 April 2008
at 4:08 p.m.

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a_flock_of_jayhawks (Anonymous) says…

parkay says,”they commit their cheap, fast, dirty, unsafe abortions in Kansas and go back to their own state to face the decades-long consequences”Here's where people like you don't get it. What you said is what you think and believe, but it is not reality. I happen to personally know a couple of women who had abortions that don't deal with the consequences you paint. They didn't use it as birth control. They are productive professionals and proud, awesome parents.You pretend to know that abortions in Kansas are “cheap, fast, dirty, unsafe”. It's just not true, so stop lying about it.You pretend to know what is best for them. However, in this case, I would trust that they know what is best for them rather than you…you've never even met them, so how would you know? Answer: you don't. Mind your own business!
7 April 2008
at 4:13 p.m.

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Jcjayhawk1 (Anonymous) says…

I am not making a formal statement here, as far as my position on abortion goes…..but Partial Birth is an unsettling procedure. I was really stunned. The following is a nurses account of the procedure and to the best of my research is an actual procedure. ” I stood at the doctor's side and watched him perform a partial-birth abortion on a woman who was six months pregnant. The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on the ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and arms, everything but his little head. The baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors and inserted them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. Then the doctor opened the scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brains out. Now the baby was completely limp.”Taken from the following website:http://www.abortioninfo.net/facts/pba.shtml
7 April 2008
at 4:17 p.m.

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absolutelyridiculous (Anonymous) says…

Redcoast said:”Regardless of whether or not it is legal, women wil still do it. Better it done safely than by an untrained guy with a clotheshanger.”So just because women will still do it neither makes it right or acceptable and right. It's still murder and you can't rationalize that. Thanks Jcjayhawk1 for that story…reality is not pretty and everytime I think about that I think about Hitler's Nazi's executing millions of Jews. Shocking we haven't evolved after seeing so much death at our own human hands.
7 April 2008
at 4:20 p.m.

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srj (Anonymous) says…

If I remember right, for many states this is common, especally in the south.
7 April 2008
at 4:25 p.m.

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dorothyhr (Dorothy Hoyt-Reed) says…

You cannot keep people with you in your little pretense houses if you do not lead a Christ-like life.Haven't you heard? It's not the life you live, it's whether or not you accept Christ as the saviour. Adulterer? murderer? Doesn't matter as long as you're haven't ever gotten an abortion. A person who has lived a generous, loving life will go to hell if they haven't accepted Jesus however. Your deeds and the way you live your life mean nothing.
7 April 2008
at 4:59 p.m.

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a_flock_of_jayhawks (Anonymous) says…

absolutelyridiculous says,”It's still murder and you can't rationalize that.”Thanks for living up to your moniker. Abortion is legal. Murder is not. You can say that abortion is murder all you want, but the law says otherwise.
7 April 2008
at 5 p.m.

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Jcjayhawk1 (Anonymous) says…

The problem with Christianity today is that some get too wrapped up being judge, jury, & executioner. The compelling message that Christ gives is Compassion, forgiveness, & appreciation for the life you have been given. (at least in my understanding) An additional problem I see with Christianity, with regard to the Bible, is it's figurative & literal latitude when interpreting the Bible and it's role. The book, which is full of great philosophies, is poisoned by the hand of man and has fallen victim to ulterior motives and political edict. But what really terps my nerp is when the all encompassing “Well…..this and that happened….everything is to God's will so…..there is the explanation.” You stub your toe…God's will….You get drunk and kill someone behind the wheel….God's will…..Babies die still born….Well hell that's God's plan too….But don't try and figure it out because it's his plan and that's the way it is.Now look…….not all Christians act as I have described above but It's a dangerous method to lead people spiritually by answering complicated spiritual questions with a generic all encompassing answer. Or answering questions with questions.<<<< another frustrating spiritual solution.
7 April 2008
at 5:05 p.m.

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Jcjayhawk1 (Anonymous) says…

For Partial Birth abortions I wonder if a baby is breeched do they go straight for the head?………It'd be pretty tough to look the “fetus” in the face while you suck and scramble their brains.At least with a regular birth you don't have to look at the head or face….well until you pull it out and throw it in the trash.

7 April 2008
at 6:46 p.m.

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Stain (Anonymous) says…

It would be great if this much energy were directed into sex education, job training, education, medical care for everyone, birth control, and last but not least, hauling in the men and making them provide financial and emotional support.
7 April 2008
at 7:51 p.m.

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jumpin_catfish (Anonymous) says…

So sad
8 April 2008
at 7:29 a.m.

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ilikestuff (Anonymous) says…

“Besides, abortions have been happening for centuries…”One must surmise in this post-modern age of amazing R&D advances in obstetrics, gynecology, neurology, etc. that it is obvious whether one refers to the entity in this developmental interval as a child, a baby, a fetus or a thing that it is clearly human. Surely the “pro-abortionist” does not believe a man and woman have sex, conceive of something distinctly inhuman to be carried for several months inside the mother's womb which, upon birth, metamorphosis's into, at last, a human? Do you? Yet, those in favor of abortion state over and over that the fetus isn't human thus killing it by any means necessary is entirely justified.One wonders in horror why the pro-abortionist has so little regard for the human fetus or child within the mother's womb. Perhaps, it's the insignificant size of the fetus which is why it's okay to kill him or her? Perhaps, it's the location, inside the womb that makes his or her execution just another “medical procedure”? Perhaps, it's okay to murder the fetus b/c of his or her dependence on the mother and his or her overall lack of relative development. Thank goodness for the child's sake that the same weak-minded rationale used to kill it in the womb are no longer applicable once born. Perhaps, someday soon there will be sufficient scientific breakthroughs so that it will be obvious to even the most simple-minded fools that the unborn person is, in fact, a person. Maybe then a senseless and protracted slaughter will end.
8 April 2008
at 9:14 a.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

parkay is right about one thing: The saga of Christin Gilbert is, indeed, very sad. But parkay's argument on this is seriously flawed, and shows no sense of either logic or justice. Like most extremists who have fetishized abortions—including “SettingTheRecordStraight” and “Marion”—they jump ahead to the grizzly parts they get off on, and ignore the hard questions.Anyone unfamiliar with this case really should read up on this. I've provided some links here, but you can probably find more. Yes, my fellow pro-choice colleagues—I'm referring you to the Operation Rescue web site. The article they provide is very well-written, and to their credit, even *they* dare to ask one or two troubling questions about this affair.http://www.operationrescue.org/?p=444http://justiceforchristin.com/http://www.cwnews.com/offtherecord/offtherecord.cfm?task=singledisplay&recnum=3372http://irrevocablechoice.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_archive.htmlhttp://scriptoids.blogspot.com/2005/09/further-invasion-of-christin-gilberts.htmlWhy did the Gilberts bring their daughter out of state for a late-term abortion?Why were they in such a rush to get the procedure done at all costs?While much chest-beating and siren-wailing has been made about Christin's death… there were, it seems, never any questions about how the girl got pregnant in the first place. No “father” was ever pointed out… no investigation in possible sexual assault was ever launched by local authorities in the the Gilberts' hometown.In reading through these links, you may learn some surprising things about ORW. You may learn some surprising things about “focus”: what one side of this argument tends to focus on, and ignore. Conversely, what the **other** side of this argument tends to focus on, and what things they ignore.It's a story about bad choices by parents, bad choices by health care professionals, bad choices by law enforcement: bad choices by the media and PR folks, even.What did I learn? I learned that in the case of Christin Gilbert and others like her, ORW and their sympathizers—including those that have already posted here, or will do so later—are hypocrites. If Tiller is indeed the “killer” or “butcher” they make him out to be, then these extremists themselves are like gleeful meat counter employees at the local Meat-Mart, plying the carved-up body parts to those consumers that have the best recipes for media hype and overexposure. The fact that Christin Gilbert was likely a victim of sexual assault is a troubling and inconvenient afterthought to parkay, STRS, bondmen, Marion, Red_Peters, Summers_Eve, and other extremists. In secret, these folks most likely support child molestation, child rape, and other forms of sexual assault, because it provides them more convenient “carcasses” for their meat counter of shameful publicity.Agnostickagnostick@excite.comhttp://www.uscentrist.orghttp://www.americanplan.org
8 April 2008
at 10:01 a.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

bondmen (Anonymous) says:”If the culture of death had not so deeply penetrated the minds of our young people maybe those not wishing to have a baby of their own would pass the blessing on to a couple desiring a child of their own; or give the gift of life to their child via an orphanage.”__________________________________________Naturally, I'm sure you'd welcome a modest tax increase to help fund these orphanages, “children's homes,” and similar facilities. I'm assuming, of course, that your idea would be funded by a mix of public funds, charitable contributions from the private/corporate sector, and private donations? So, any tax increase would probably be small… no more than 2-3%. You're more than willing to pay for that, right?As to the “adoption” scenario, I don't think you or any other “pro-life” person has really, seriously considered adoption. Some things to consider…1) If adoption is such an easy solution, why aren't there more of them?2) Adoption has been around for a long, long time—yet fertility clinics and reproductive specialists, the relative “newcomers” to the baby chase, have all the clients they can handle, and then some. Why?3) If “domestic adoption” is so great, and so easy… why do so many American couples adopt children from other nations, when there are plenty of babies in their own backyard, so to speak? (Hint: You might want to ask Sam Brownback about this!)4) If adoption is so great and so easy, why *don't* the women showing up at clinic doors (like Tiller's) go to adoption agencies, instead?bondmen, I'm not expecting you to post answers to these questions. I don't have the answers, I don't think *you* have the answers, I don't think there are any “easy answers,” at all.I can only tell you from personal experience: When we were caught up in the “baby chase,” a lawyer that my wife consulted at the time dissuaded her from adoption. The lawyer told her that in more than half the cases of adoption in Kansas, the adoptive couple never get the child. Kansas law (again, this was in early 2004) allowed birth mothers up to six weeks to change their mind, and get the child back. Cost of a domestic adoption at that time was estimated @ $10,000.At the reproductive clinic we were using at the time, they claimed an invitro success rate of @ 55%. In Kansas, the vast majority of reproductive treatments are not covered by insurance—you have to pay it all yourself.So… you got $10,000, bondmen. $10,000 to “spin the wheel.” Wheel #1 offers you a 30-40% chance of winning; wheel #2 offers you a 55% chance of winning.*That* answer, on the other hand… is *very* easy.—Ag