This just happened today. I never would have expected it from Kansas because they’ve had so much in the way of crazy Republican leaders in the last few years but their state’s history is another matter, as revealed by its unofficial nickname, “The Free State.” Note, too, that Kansas gave women the right to vote in 1912, almost a decade before the federal constitution was amended to require it.
In a sweeping decision on Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that its state constitution protects bodily autonomy—including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy. The court interpreted the Kansas Constitution to provide stronger protections for abortion rights than the federal Constitution, and its decision cannot be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Friday’s ruling illustrates how state Supreme Courts can safeguard women even as the federal judiciary chipsawayat Roe v. Wade. It is a signal triumph for … individual liberty.
The court’s decision in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidtrevolves around a 2015 state law known as S.B. 95 that banned the most common procedure for second-trimester abortions. Reproductive rights advocates challenged the measure under Section 1 of the Kansas Bill of Rights, which declares: “All men [and women] are possessed of equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” A district court blocked S.B. 95, ruling that the Kansas Constitution provides the same protections for abortion as the U.S. Constitution. The state court of appeals affirmed that decision, and the state appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court, which voted to affirm, and bolster, the lower court ruling.
And it gets better and better! Emphasis added.
In its majority opinion, the high court agreed that the Kansas Constitution protects abortion rights—but held that it goes further than the federal Constitution in its guarantee of bodily autonomy. Unlike the federal Constitution, the majority explained, the Kansas Constitution expressly shields “inalienable rights” from government intrusion. And an exhaustive review of the historical record demonstrates that the framers of the Kansas Constitution intended “its unenumerated natural rights guarantee” to extend beyond the Due Process Clause of the federal Constitution, in which Roe is rooted. Among other things,“inalienable rights” encompass the right to “to control one’s own body, to assert bodily integrity, and to exercise self-determination.” The court explained:
At the heart of [Section 1 of the Kansas Bill of Rights] is the principle that individuals should be free to make choices about how to conduct their own lives, or, in other words, to exercise personal autonomy. Few decisions impact our lives more than those about issues that affect one’s physical health, family formation, and family life.
More here: Kansas Supreme Court Issues Sweeping Decision Protecting Abortion Rights