Topeka — Senate President Steve Morris on Wednesday sent back to committee an anti-abortion bill, citing concerns about what the proposal’s impact would be on the accreditation of the Kansas University Medical Center.
“I have consistently voted pro-life,” said Morris, R-Hugoton. “While I will always fight for pro-life values, we must also protect the accreditation of our flagship medical center.”
The measure, which has been approved by the House, makes numerous changes to Kansas abortion law.
One of those changes would prevent state employees, including doctors-in-training at the medical center in Kansas City, Kan., from performing abortions on state property or state time.
KU Medical Center officials voiced concerns that the accreditation of its obstetrics and gynecology program would be in danger, and legislators added a provision saying its medical residents could do abortions off-site, on their own time, for a year. But the Medical Center wanted a permanent exception.
Morris said the Senate needed more time to consider the proposal. He declared House substitute for Senate Bill 313 “materially altered,” which sends it back to a Senate committee with only a few days left in the legislative session.
According to KU, doctors-in-training at the Medical Center are considered state employees for purposes of insurance and other factors. National accreditation requirements state that obstetrics-gynecologists residents are to be offered training in abortion procedures, but residents may opt out of the training due to religious or moral objections. KU medical residents receive this training at facilities not owned or operated by the state.
In the bill, language protecting OB-GYN medical residents would expire in June 2013, but the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will be reviewing accreditation at KU Med in October 2013.
“We’re focused on maintaining the accreditation for the university’s OB-GYN program, which will be reviewed in October 2013,” said KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. “Accreditation is vital to our ability to train the health providers Kansas patients need. We appreciate the efforts of those who have sought to protect our ability to be accredited and will continue to work with policymakers to identify a solution.”
The KU Medical Center, with residency programs in Kansas City and Wichita, provides the only OB-GYN training in the state. In Kansas, 82 counties do not have an OB-GYN, KU said.
Comments
hujiko 1 year ago
Where are the Rothschild haters today? I love it when you guys point out the obvious liberal bias in all his articles.
Cheers to Steve Morris for making the call based on the good of the state and not personal ideology.
kansanjayhawk 1 year ago
Now we need a recorded vote on the floor of the State Senate to pull that bill out of committee for an up or down vote! Let the Senators go on record so that the voters may know which ones did not want this important pro-life legislation to even get an up or down vote!
Joe Hyde 1 year ago
From the news article: "The KU Medical Center, with residency programs in Kansas City and Wichita, provides the only OB-GYN training in the state. In Kansas, 82 counties do not have an OB-GYN, KU said."
Any legislation seeking to end legal abortions regardless of need, while simultaneously de-certifying the state's only OB-GYN training school is not pro-life, it's pro-crazy.
Boston_Corbett 1 year ago
So Kansanjayhawk wants a vote for use in political "postcard mailings."
That says everything about the real motivations behind the the bill: punish Senate moderate R's.
Boston_Corbett 1 year ago
So Kansanjayhawk wants a vote for use in political "postcard mailings."
That says everything about the real motivations behind the the bill: punish Senate moderate R's.
Hepburn 1 year ago
You're feeling it now, kansasjayhawk, because you feel "you're on a roll." Maybe, just maybe, the other side wants to know who the supporters are so they can vote against them.
Mike1949 1 year ago
I just don't understand the logic behind all this anti-abortion crap. It will just go underground again like in the 20's. It is just like prohibition, you're not going to stop it. It will just go underground where you have not only late term babies dying, but the women in many cases because of the filth, unqualified doctors if you could even call them doctors. You know it will happen, I can guarantee it! But that is what anti-abortion people want, women dieing left and right, but they will just hide it, preach about the sins of people, and watch their daughters die when they need to eliminate a pregnancy. They aren't going to pay for women to have babies, that is for sure. They figure if they just kill those loose women off, all the better for Kansas!
Paul R. Getto 1 year ago
+1
cowboy 1 year ago
The Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo reports that next week the Romney campaign will be doing a major fundraising blitz across Florida, including an event “at the Star Island manse of pharmaceutical magnate Phil and Pat Frost where dinner costs $50,000.”
Who is Dr. Phil Frost? He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Teva Pharmaceuticals, a major manufacturer of contraceptives. Its North American website prominently advertises several forms of contraception, including Plan B One Step, which Romney previously denounced as an “abortive pill”:
cait48 1 year ago
Has the Miami Herald also reported on how the county commission has rejected state funding for female health care, thus shutting down the only clinic in the county that provided contraception, breast exams, pap exams and other female services?
tanzer 1 year ago
I learned that a D and C (I cannot remember the proper medical nomenclauture) is considered an abortion procedure that is also provided to women whose pregnancies have self-terminated, but have not spontaneously evacuated the uterus. The procedure is done to prevent infection and death after a pregnancy is no longer viable. Seems to me many if not all OBGYN docs would need to know this procedure regardless of whether they terminate pregnancies or only provide this procedure as a life saving measure. I also learned that when this procedure is recorded it is not considered an abortion in the case I site above, but some doctors will wait until they are certain a fetus is no longer viable, risking infection in the woman, before they will provide the procedure. There is evidently a short window before infection sets in from the time the fetus isn't viable. Those docs who wait do this for fear someone will misinterpret the procedure calling it an abortion.
jafs 1 year ago
If they wait too long, and the woman suffers infection and/or death, can they be held accountable?
Paul R. Getto 1 year ago
Good move, Senator. Keep it up.
Perses 1 year ago
I have always been Pro-Life but I believe in Pro Choice. Roe vs Wade pretty much prohibits any total ban on abortions so states, like Kansas, with far right, evangelical lawmakers look for ways around that ruling. This bill was so poorly crafted and has many stipulations that is going to cost Kansas millions in legal defense suits.
Paul R. Getto 1 year ago
Told ya the gov was interested in increasing employment.
kansanjayhawk 1 year ago
Who says the bill was poorly crafted- in what way?-my understanding is the bill was well put together.
cait48 1 year ago
I also believe that part of this is that it's an election year and pro-woman forces have been compiling "hit lists" of legislators and the legislation they have sponsored and their voting records. If anyone thinks this isn't happening or that it's ineffectual, they are fools. I don't think the Senate majority leader is a fool. Much safer to shelve this until after the election and then they can shove it down the throats of female Kansans with impunity.
lawslady 1 year ago
I am female and Pro-Life and have been for over 40 years. But this bill was/is BAD news. It did less to protect the unborn and a whole lot more to protect doctors who want to lie (by ommission) to their patients. Everyone who sees a doctor should object to any law that protects/allows a medical doctor who wants to withhold important health related infomation from a patient. The shield protections in this bill would have done just that. Whether abortions ever become illegal (again) is a federal law (Constitutional) question. Whether more people will object to it on moral grounds is a personal issue. The lawmakers who are beating this drum are doing far more to harm all living (and unborn) humans by not addressing themselves to the very real moral issues that can be resolved by a state legislative body. Such as the ever growing gap between the very rich and the very poor. Society's collaspe when the middle class disappears.
jafs 1 year ago
I'm very glad to hear you say that.
I would hope that there are others in the "pro life" camp that can see the distinctions you're making and agree with them.
And, it's great to see somebody in that group actually caring about people once they're born, as well.
merrill 1 year ago
Pro Choice/Pro Life = the majority of families and voters I'm guessing!
Recall Sam Brownback! Elect Tom Holland!
kansanjayhawk 1 year ago
Tom Holland is completely a party hack way out of step with his district and Kansas as a whole!
kansanjayhawk 1 year ago
Tom Holland is completely a party hack way out of step with his district and Kansas as a whole!
vertigo 1 year ago
More name calling by the hypocrite so against name calling!
cait48 1 year ago
"Morris said the Senate needed more time to consider the proposal. He declared House substitute for Senate Bill 313 “materially altered,” which sends it back to a Senate committee with only a few days left in the legislative session." One of the hazards of the House trying to shove through legislation on a "gut and go".
kansanjayhawk 1 year ago
what's the problem with letting them vote?
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