Ninety Yea, 30 Nay, in the Kansas House and 28 Yea, 10 Nay, in the Kansas Senate was the final vote count for House Bill 2253.
The bill, entitled “The Pro-Life Protections Act,” was signed into law by Governor Sam Brownback two weeks ago. It will make it illegal for employees, agents or volunteers from an abortion service to sponsor or provide course materials or instruction on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases in schools.
HB 2253 will also prohibit women from having gender-based abortions, as well as cut funding for abortion clinics and services. It also includes the declaration that life begins at fertilization.
Public Affairs Director at Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, Sheila Kostas, believes in the good of her organization, and the positive impact it can have.
Kostas wrote that even with these funding decreases, Planned Parenthood has been in Kansas for 75 years, and will stick around.
“Planned Parenthood will be here no matter what to provide affordable reproductive health care and safe, legal abortion services to women and families in Kansas,” Kostas wrote.
She wrote in an email that sex education has wide public support, and has been shown effective for students.
“Our own polling last year showed that more than 90 percent of parents think it’s important that sex education is taught in middle and high school, and the vast majority (94 percent for high school and 78 percent for middle school) want it to include information about birth control.” Kostas wrote.
Health teacher Sue Chipman believes that the bill will not change how students are educated about sex in the Shawnee Mission School District. She has never had a Planned Parenthood or other abortion clinic representative speak to her classes.
“The district actually said that it was not a good idea and to avoid controversy, we would be advised not to have [a representative from an abortion clinic],” Chipman said.
The bottom line though, she said, was that the reproductive facts are not changing anytime soon, and that’s what she will keep on teaching.
Senior lobbyist at Kansans For Life, Jeanne Gawdun, believes the bill prohibits these representatives from coming to schools because it creates a conflict of interest. She acknowledged that sexual education is important but that Planned Parenthood is not the right organization to present it.
“These are people who make money when, for example, you know children are sexually active, and there’s is a pregnancy, these children are going into the clinics and having abortions,” Gawdun said.
Gawdun compared having representatives from abortion clinics teaching sexual education to McDonalds telling people to not eat beef and simultaneously selling hamburgers.
“As a leading reproductive health provider and educator, sex education is some of the most important work Planned Parenthood does,” Kostas wrote.
The bill also prohibits the spending of public funds and tax credits to facilitate abortions and from funding locations where abortions are performed.
Senior Helena Buchmann sees the good in Planned Parenthood. She cites that only a small percentage of their budget goes to actually funding abortions.
“It’s annoying that Planned Parenthood can’t teach sex ed because that’s probably one of their biggest things that they spend money on is providing sex education to schools around the country.” Buchmann said.
According to FactCheck.org, about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s total budget in 2009 went to abortions, while 10 percent of their total clients received abortion services. The other 97 percent of the budget went to funding things like cancer screenings, education and testing for STDs.
Gawdun expresses that this is a good change. She believes the public should not be paying taxes that go towards funding abortions, or abortion training.
“This is an important measure in that regard,” Gawdun said, “The fact that it does recognize the state is making a powerful statement that the unborn child does have protectable interest and that taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the abortion industry,” Gawdun said.
Kostas specified the positive impact Planned Parenthood has had on women in Kansas.
“One in five women has turned to Planned Parenthood at some time in her life for professional, non-judgmental and confidential care. No one else does more than Planned Parenthood to reduce unintended pregnancies and keep women healthy.” Kostas said.
Some of the terminology in the bill has sparked controversy between pro-life and pro-choice activists in Kansas. HB 2253 declares that life begins at fertilization.
Senior Allie Chesbrough, a strong supporter of anti-abortion measures, agrees with many parts of the bill.
“I personally believe that life starts at conception, so I think it’s the government’s role to and prevent abortions from happening,” Chesbrough said.
Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri stated his dissatisfaction with the bill and how he believes the government is overstepping its grounds in a press release.
“Women don’t turn to politicians for advice about mammograms, prenatal care or cancer treatments. Politicians should not be involved in a woman’s personal medical decisions about her pregnancy. Let’s let real physicians practice medicine — not the ‘pretend doctors’ in the Statehouse,” the release stated.
The press release that included quotes from Holly Weatherford of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri, Elise Higgins of the Kansas National Organization for Women as well as Brownlie, illustrated the strong dissatisfaction towards the bill from the pro-choice stand-point.
“Somebody can believe that the sky is green, but scientifically we know that it is not,” Gawdun said. “And it’s the same thing that somebody can believe that human life doesn’t begin until birth but they would be biologically incorrect.” Gawdun said.
Gawdun specified that although declaring that life begins at fertilization, the bill would not criminalize abortions. The bill would make it so that if someone was injured or killed while pregnant, the prosecutor would be able to add charges to the case, and make unborn children protectable interest for the natural parents.
“Kansas is a pro-life state and we’re going to move forward with that, and anywhere we can protect human life, we will do so,” Gawdun said.
Buchmann, who believes life begins at birth, argued that she, too, is also a supporter of life.
“I hate the terminology pro-choice and pro-life, because it implies that pro-choicers aren’t pro-life, and I’m pro-life. I’m really into living, I’m really into other people living.” Buchmann said.
Buchmann said she is a supporter of all life, from birth until death, but doesn’t believe the state should work so hard just to protect an unborn child.
She also expressed her concern with the direction that this bill moves the state in. She stated that although she knows abortions will never become illegal, it makes her fearful of what is to come. She emailed Governor Brownback and cited her concerns with the cutting of funding for Planned Parenthood, and how it will affect others.
“Your quest for a “culture of life” in Kansas is one that should not even be in the rhetoric of a government official,” the email read, “The imposition of your beliefs is hurting people far more than abortions are, despite your allegation that life begins at fertilization,” it went on to say.
The office replied with an email that complimented Buchmann on her concern with the government of Kansas. It also explained some of the grounds for why Brownback did sign the bill.
“It is my profound belief that our state must support the dignity of every human being, whether they are unemployed, undereducated, or unborn.” The email said.
The bill will go into effect July 2013. Certain provisions, relating to the tax code, will not go into effect until January 1, 2014.
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