Kansas attorney general's opinion criticized as spin to promote anti-abortion amendment

Abortion rights advocates dismiss a legal opinion from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt as a ploy intended to bolster the chances of passing a change to the state constitution.

Schmidt’s office issued a legal opinion contending that the change to the Kansas Constitution would not restrict treatments for medically dangerous pregnancies. Schmidt backs the amendment.

But groups opposing the amendment — and the prospect it raises of an abortion ban in Kansas — said the attorney general’s opinion was driven more by political motivation than any effort to clarify the law regarding ectopic pregnancies.

A pregnancy is ectopic when the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, often in one of the fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancies are not viable and can threaten a woman’s life.

Christina Bourne, the medical director of the Trust Women clinic in Wichita, said legal uncertainty surrounding ectopic pregnancy termination is already scaring away some doctors from performing a procedure that can save lives