Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that would have permitted child support payment claims to be filed for unborn children any time after the date of conception.
The bill – Senate Bill 232 – was championed by anti-abortion advocates. The policy would have allowed the solicitation of child support to cover the costs of medical expenses incurred during pregnancy. Women who receive elective abortions would not qualify for the financial support.
Kelly said that the proposed policy went against the “will of the majority of Kansans” and referenced a referendum vote from August of 2022.
“This divisive legislation has broad and sweeping implications that undermine the will of the majority of Kansans who voted overwhelmingly in 2022 to protect the constitutional rights of women to make decisions about pregnancy,” she said in a message explaining her decision. “This is another blatant attempt by extreme politicians in the Legislature to take more control over women and their families’ personal, private medical decisions.”
SB 232 was passed by the state House 82-38 and the Senate 25-12. Lawmakers have adjourned the legislative session and therefore will not be able to override Kelly’s veto.
“The Legislature has long had supermajorities that oppose abortion and GOP lawmakers this year overrode Kelly’s vetoes of four other measures backed by anti-abortion groups,” notes AP News.
Republicans in the state defended the child support bill. They argue the policy would increase the legal support offered to pregnant women in Kansas.
“This bill is simple and short and does not effect a fundamental change in current Kansas law about the definition of a person, a human being or an unborn child,” said state Senator Kellie Warren, per Kansas Reflector. “The real impact of this bill is helping women — helping women to pay for things.”
Currently, Kansas does not legally recognize parental relationships until after a child is born and paternity is confirmed. Any disputes about pregnancy-related costs are settled in court by a judge after a child is born.
The now-vetoed bill would have added an unborn child to the legal definition of a child.
Pro-abortion advocates warned that the change would allow for an expansion of anti-abortion measures in Kansas.
“This tactic undermines the widespread public support for abortion access in Kansas and the ambiguous language in the bill renders it unfeasible,” said Taylor Morton of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, per Live Action.
Kansas voters rejected a referendum creating a constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to create an abortion ban that had no exceptions.
Kelly is a Democrat who “hardly mentioned abortion” during her 2022 reelection campaign, according to The 19th. The outlet said the governor “has emerged in the past four years as a last line of defense for abortion providers, vetoing bills that would limit access to the procedure” and suggested that her reelection increased the “likelihood that the state remains a major abortion access point.”
