Judge blocks Kansas law that banned prescribing abortion pills over telemedicine

Kansas women could soon be able to seek abortion pills through telemedicine appointments after a judge blocked a state law banning the practice.

Abortion providers and abortion rights advocates say the decision will help expand access to abortion for people across the state, particularly in areas like western Kansas that might be several hours from the nearest clinic. The state’s five clinics are clustered around Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas.

The decision “paves the way for Kansas abortion clinics to expand services to women in remote, underserved areas of Kansas,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement.

The legal status of telemedicine abortion has been tied up in Kansas courts for years, since the Center for Reproductive Rights and Wichita-based clinic Trust Women challenged a 2011 law requiring doctors to be in the same room as patients when prescribing abortion-inducing medication.