What might Kansas City and Wichita look like with an abortion ban? Look at western Kansas

The westernmost abortion provider in Kansas sits in the eastern half of the state — in Wichita. So for someone in Hays or Dodge City, it takes more than two and a half hours to drive to the nearest clinic.

For Kansans who live farther west, the closest place to get an abortion is hundreds of miles away in another state.

A clinic near Denver is the nearest option for people in Colby and Oberlin. For those in Leoti and Syracuse, it’s one in Colorado Springs. The town of Elkhart in southwest Kansas is just about as far from a clinic in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as it is from the one in Wichita.

“There are people in western Kansas who are sort of already living in this post-Roe reality,” said Jack Teter, regional director of governmental affairs for Planned Parenthood in Colorado. “Abortion might be legal in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it’s accessible.”