Hundreds rally at Statehouse to protest abortion

Hundreds of Kansans rallied Monday against abortion on the steps of the Kansas Statehouse on a cold, dreary day.

Gov. Sam Brownback urged people at the March for Life event Monday to “keep up the fight.”

“Kansas is the leading pro-life state in America, and we will stay that way,” Brownback said to cheers.

Brownback said that reputation was earned through numerous state laws restricting abortion and “years of toil” on the part of anti-abortion activists.

“It’s people working for this cause in an organized fashion and believing in their heart that this is a just and right cause,” Brownback said. “That’s what you stand for in this march.

“All of that, though, now is in jeopardy,” he added.

The Kansas Supreme Court announced last week it will hold oral arguments on March 16 on the constitutionality of a 2015 statute outlawing the most common method of performing abortions during the second trimester of pregnancy, which anti-abortion activists call “dismemberment” abortions.

The law prohibits physicians from using surgical tools to remove a fetus in pieces without first administering a lethal injection to it. That law hasn’t been enforced yet and is blocked by injunction until the Supreme Court rules.

Abortion opponents say the process is inhumane. Abortion providers say the alternatives are more intrusive and potentially harmful to the woman, creating an undue burden in exercising her rights.

In expectation of the court ruling, anti-abortion groups, including Kansans for Life, pushed to oust four Supreme Court justices in the November election.

That would have allowed Brownback, a staunch abortion opponent, to appoint a majority of the court. However, all the justices were retained by the voters.

During the 45-minute rally on Monday, dozens of state lawmakers stood on the steps of the Capitol.

Kansas residents traveled from across the state to attend the rally.

Rene Romero traveled from St. Mary’s. Romero said he opposed abortion for religious reasons. He said he did not know the best way forward for the anti-abortion movement in Kansas after the fight over judicial retention.

“The political approach (against abortion) can help, but it’s primarily prayer and sacrifice,” he said.

This week marked the 44th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the landmark decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion.

Barb Haberkrom of Topeka was in high school at the time and has opposed abortion ever since. She said changing popular opinion would be the most effective way to outlaw abortion.

“The laws aren’t going to protect people. It’s one heart at a time,” she said.

Thousands attended a Women’s March demonstration in Topeka two days earlier, in part to rally for abortion rights.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Hundreds rally at Statehouse to protest abortion."