Kansas Health Department Shows Abortions Drop 9%, Due to Pro-Life Factors

From http://www.lifenews.com/state4931.html

Kansas Health Department Shows Abortions Drop 9%, Due to Pro-Life Factors

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 26, 2010

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Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) -- The Kansas Department of Health & Environment released its preliminary report today on the status of abortion in the state in 2009. The figures show the number of abortions on the decline, which a statewide pro-life groups says it due to a number of pro-life factors.

In 2009, there were 1,170 fewer total abortions (9,472, down from 10,642) than the year prior -- down nearly 9 percent.

The reductions were fewer from out of state (447) than from Kansas (773) and were distributed over all parts of pregnancy when an unborn children is killed in an abortion.

Kansans for Life legislative director Kathy Ostrowski told LifeNews.com today that her group attributes part of the decline to the closing of George Tiller's late-term abortion center midway through the year.

In fact, abortions done after 21 weeks of pregnancy dropped from 323 to 121 in 2009.

But Ostrowski credits a pro-life state law and the presence of pregnancy help centers for lowering the numbers as well.

“Although the absence of the Wichita clinic seems obvious in the statistics, we attribute the reduction in abortion numbers to the dedicated Kansans who maintain 76 no-cost pregnancy assistance centers across this state, of which 19 have free ultrasound services available," she said. "Last year approximately 32,000 women contacted these locations and were helped in a variety of ways-- before, during and after delivery.”

Ostrowski also says the fact that women can see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion is also having a positive effect on stopping abortions.
“Although we have no way to calculate how often women are requesting to see the fetal ultrasound inside abortion clinics--now permitted under law-- this is an important deterrent to abortion

"Unfortunately, the state DVD on fetal development was not implemented properly by KDHE and when that is corrected, we expect more women to choose life,” she said.

For the twelfth year running (since statistics were initiated), no Kansas post-viability abortions were done to save the mother’s life.

“The Kansas Senate needs to pass HB 2166, instead of letting this bill die in committee. HB 2166 would close the loophole that allowed treatable mental health conditions to be used to justify the abortion of viable unborn children. There is no ruling from the Supreme Court barring its passage.”

In 2009, 110 of the 121 post 21-week gestation abortions were obtained by non-residents, with 66 of those abortions eliminating viable unborn children--those whom the abortionist, himself, determined were viable.

The number of non-surgical (RU 486) abortions increased from 1,900 to 1,966.

According to FDA reports, as of December 2006, there have now been eight known deaths associated with RU 486 in the U.S., nine life-threatening incidents, 116 blood transfusions, and 232 hospitalizations. In total, more than 1,100 women have had medical problems after using the drug as of that date.


There was little change in the number of repeat abortions, or in the breakdown by race.

Abortions in Sedgwick County (home of Tiller’s former clinic) declined the most, from 1146 in 2008 to 871 in 2009, a drop of 275.

Abortions in populous Johnson County dropped slightly from 1286 to 1195. There was a minimal decline in Douglas County and rise in Shawnee County.

Kansas has four abortion clinics, two in Overland Park (Planned Parenthood and Center for Women’s Health), one in Kansas City, Kansas (Aid for Women) and one in Lawrence offering non-surgical abortions (Planned Parenthood).

Related web sites:
Kansans for Life - http://www.kfl.org