An equally divided Kansas Court of Appeals Jan. 22 affirmed a state trial court decision that found the state’s constitution recognizes a woman’s right to have an abortion prior to fetal viability (Hodes & Nauser, MDs, P.A. v. Schmidt, 2016 BL 17239, Kan. Ct. App., 114,153, 1/22/16).
Because of the tie, the decision kept in place a state trial court holding that barred Kansas from enforcing a law that bans the most common method of second-trimester abortion. Of the 14 judges on the court, seven voted to strike the law, while seven would have held the law ...