Kansas pays nearly $1.2M to outside law firms to defend anti-abortion laws

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office says it has paid outside attorneys nearly $1.2 million to defend anti-abortion laws enacted since January 2011.

Schmidt’s office reported this week that it has paid almost $770,000 to the Lawrence firm of Thompson, Ramsdell & Qualseth for fees and expenses in handling multiple federal and state lawsuits.

Schmidt’s office also has paid more than $425,000 to the Wichita firm of Foulston Siefken to successfully defend a measure keeping federal dollars for non-abortion services from flowing to Planned Parenthood.

The state successfully defended a 2013 law requiring abortion providers to post certain material on their websites for women seeking abortions and another statute restricting private health insurance coverage of abortions.

A state-court lawsuit is still pending against special regulations for providers enacted in 2011.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Kansas pays nearly $1.2M to outside law firms to defend anti-abortion laws."