NAF Commends the Governor of Kansas for Her Veto of Legislation Restricting Abortion

Today, Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) vetoed a bill (Senate Bill 389) imposing new restrictions on abortion care. Gov. Sebelius noted in her veto message that the bill, “endangers the health of women and is likely to be found in violation [of] the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Kansas.” Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), released the following statement praising Gov. Sebelius for vetoing this harmful anti-abortion legislation:

We thank Gov. Sebelius for recognizing that this bill inappropriately legislates the way in which doctors care for their patients and improperly interferes with personal, private medical decisions.

NAF is the professional association of abortion providers in the U.S. and Canada. Our members work diligently to ensure that every woman seeking reproductive health care receives the highest quality care and accurate and complete information pertinent to her health care. Physicians have a legal, professional, and ethical obligation to share with their patients relevant information about available health care options and to respect their patients’ decisions. Quality medical practice requires that a patient and her physician decide together on medical treatment based on the specific needs of that patient. If this bill had been signed into law, it would have interfered with this crucial doctor-patient relationship and endangered the health of women in Kansas.