Wichita ? The American Civil Liberties Union told a federal judge that a Kansas statute restricting abortion insurance coverage discriminates against women.

Documents filed Wednesday by the ACLU contend the state law violates the Equal Protection Clause because it prohibits insurance companies from offering women comprehensive policies for all their health care needs.

The argument comes amid efforts by Kansas to bar that claim in a lawsuit challenging the new law’s constitutionality.

The filing comes in response to a motion by the state seeking a partial judgment before trial on the lawsuit. The state contends it has a rational basis to prefer that insurance policies subsidize the costs of childbirth, but not abortion.

The ACLU contends that the law is not “rationally related” to a legitimate state interest in childbirth.