[July 01, 2011] EDITORIAL: End arrogant attack on abortion clinics Tweet Jun 30, 2011 (The Kansas City Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The latest political attack on abortion providers in Kansas is misguided, arrogant and dishonest, and opens up a state struggling to pay for schools to a long list of clearly indefensible lawsuits. This attack came in the form of what is known as a TRAP law, a "targeted regulation of abortion providers." Under the guise of ensuring the safety of patients, Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature this year created a new regulation category for abortion providers, and gave the Kansas Department of Health and Environment broad authority to write the rules. Officials gave the details to abortion providers in mid-June, noting that clinics had until July 1 to be in compliance or lose their license to operate. The intent was to close down clinics and end the legal practice of abortion in Kansas. Need proof? There are 241 ambulatory surgical clinics in Kansas. Only the state's three abortion clinics are subject to these regulations. Supporters of the new rules have been upfront about their goal to make Kansas the first abortion-free state. Providers must comply with 36 pages of regulations, including specific sizes and temperatures for rooms in the clinics. Even the capacity of janitors' closets is specified; they must be at least 50 square feet. Many regulations have nothing to do with patient safety, and many are impossible to meet within two weeks. The attack on legal abortion is a cheap legislative trick to get around the law of the land. Legitimate safety regulations would be phased in, giving clinics time to get up to code. But these regulations were never meant to be legitimate. Polling consistently indicates more than half of all Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and eight in 10 believe it should be legal in at least some instances. If all of the state's clinics are shut down, how is this possible? The move reflects the same disdain for Kansans that Brownback has shown in other areas of running the state. Brownback ignored the wishes of Kansans and the Legislature in dismantling the state arts commission. He is gutting public agencies without concern to their effectiveness while pushing an anti-abortion agenda that serves his need to create conservative bona fides. His administration is unwisely attacking public funding for family planning by withholding funding for two Planned Parenthood offices that have nothing to do with abortion. Brownback provides no alternatives for helping low-income women with access to birth control. This, of course, is strongly at odds with a true anti-abortion position. Abortion is a divisive issue, with strong beliefs on both sides. But Kansans deserve an open, honest discussion, not underhanded maneuvers. To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]