Chapter 65: Public Health

Article 67: Abortion

Statute 65-6710: Same; printed materials to be published and distributed by the department of health and environment; materials to be available at no cost. (a) The department shall cause to be published and distributed widely, within 30 days after the effective date of this act, and shall update on an annual basis, the following easily comprehensible printed materials:

      (1)   Geographically indexed materials designed to inform the woman of public and private agencies and services available to assist a woman through pregnancy, upon childbirth and while her child is dependent, including but not limited to, adoption agencies. The materials shall include a comprehensive list of the agencies, a description of the services they offer and the telephone numbers and addresses of the agencies; and inform the woman about available medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth and neonatal care and about the support obligations of the father of a child who is born alive. The department shall ensure that the materials described in this section are comprehensive and do not directly or indirectly promote, exclude or discourage the use of any agency or service described in this section. The materials shall also contain a toll-free 24-hour a day telephone number which may be called to obtain, orally, such a list and description of agencies in the locality of the caller and of the services they offer. The materials shall state that it is unlawful for any individual to coerce a woman to undergo an abortion, that any physician who performs an abortion upon a woman without her informed consent may be liable to her for damages. Kansas law permits adoptive parents to pay costs of prenatal care, childbirth and neonatal care. The materials shall include the following statement:

"Many public and private agencies exist to provide counseling and information on available services. You are strongly urged to seek their assistance to obtain guidance during your pregnancy. In addition, you are encouraged to seek information on abortion services, alternatives to abortion, including adoption, and resources available to post-partum mothers. The law requires that your physician or the physician's agent provide the enclosed information."

      (2)   Materials that inform the pregnant woman of the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the fetus at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full term, including pictures or drawings representing the development of a fetus at two-week gestational increments, and any relevant information on the possibility of the fetus' survival. Any such pictures or drawings shall contain the dimensions of the fetus and shall be realistic. The materials shall be objective, nonjudgmental and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about the fetus at the various gestational ages. The material shall also contain objective information describing the methods of abortion procedures commonly employed, the medical risks commonly associated with each such procedure and the medical risks associated with carrying a fetus to term.

      (3)   A certification form to be used by physicians or their agents under subsection (e) of K.S.A. 65-6709 and amendments thereto, which will list all the items of information which are to be given to women by physicians or their agents under the woman's-right-to-know act.

      (b)   The materials required under this section shall be printed in a typeface large enough to be clearly legible. The materials shall be made available in both English and Spanish language versions.

      (c)   The materials required under this section shall be available at no cost from the department upon request and in appropriate number to any person, facility or hospital.

      History:   L. 1997, ch. 190, § 28; July 1.