Kansas Senate Poised to Toughen Abortion Law

(AP) – The Kansas Senate is expected to approve a national group’s model legislation banning a procedure used in 8 percent of the state’s abortions.

The bill up for a vote Friday in the Senate outlaws the dilation and evacuation procedure and redefines it in state law as “dismemberment abortion.”

Twenty-five of the Senate’s 40 members sponsored the bill. The measure would go next to the House.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is a strong abortion opponent and already has promised to sign the bill should it clear the GOP-dominated Legislature.

The National Right to Life Committee drafted the measure and unveiled first in Kansas.

Abortion rights supporters say the targeted procedure is often the safest method for second-trimester abortions and that even some earlier abortions could be banned.