On Monday, a Kansas judge placed a permanent injunction on several informed consent laws surrounding abortion, some of which have been in place since 1997. He made this decision hours before leaving his position to take a new one as a Kansas Supreme Court justice.

Key Takeaways:

• On Monday, a Kansas judge permanently overturned a set of informed consent laws known as the Women's Right to Know Act.

• The judge, Christopher Jayaram, issued the ruling in his last hours as a Johnson County judge, before being sworn in as a new Kansas Supreme Court justice.

• Some of the mandates in the Women's Right to Know Act were passed in 1997, but were temporarily paused by Jayaram in a 2023 ruling.

The Details:

The ruling, which placed a permanent injunction on the Kansas Women's Right to Know Act, was issued by outgoing Johnson County judge Christopher Jayaram, the same day he was sworn in as a new Kansas Supreme Court justice. The set of informed consent mandates had already been paused under a temporary injunction Jayaram issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood in 2023.

Among the mandates overturned include:

• A 24-hour waiting period prior to an abortion, along with a 24 hour disclosure detailing the risks related to abortion

• Fetal ultrasound availability and gestational dating

• A requirement that the abortionist must listen to the preborn child's heartbeat 30 minutes prior to the abortion

• A requirement that abortion-minded women are offered information about 'abortion pill reversal'

• A requirement that patients provide information about why they are seeking an abortion

Jayaram's 260-page decision ultimately determined that these informed consent requirements — which ensure women have as much information as possible prior making a life-altering, life-ending decision of abortion — violated Kansans’ right to bodily autonomy and “infringe upon a woman’s fundamental rights.” 

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He wrote:

Because a woman’s right to bodily autonomy (including her right to decide whether to terminate or to continue a pregnancy) is fundamental, the Court concludes, given the overwhelming evidence adduced at trial, that the State’s rationale and legislative schemes… simply do not, in significant part, survive constitutional scrutiny under Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights.

He said the state failed to justify why the laws should remain in place.

“The State Defendants simply failed in their obligation to clear that high bar to justify such intrusive legislative mandates. It is not, in this Court’s view, even a close call, based upon the record before the Court,” Jayaram wrote.

What We're Hearing:

Brittany Jones, president of Kansas Family Voice, expressed dismay at the ruling.

“All of these things simply give women information, give them more time and make sure we know why women are seeking abortions so that we can actually help them,” Jones said

Mackenzie Ayers, Director of Communications for Kansans for Life, stated in an email to Live Action News:

The timing of this ruling is deeply troubling. After waiting more than ten months to issue a decision, Judge Jayaram waited until just hours before being sworn in to the Kansas Supreme Court to strike down the Woman's Right to Know Act, eliminating nearly 30 years of commonsense protections that helped ensure women received the information they needed before making a life-altering decision.

The ruling leaves women even more vulnerable to a predatory abortion industry that consistently puts its own profits ahead of women. Kansans for Life will continue advocating for compassionate, commonsense policies that protect mothers and babies while educating Kansans about the risks posed by the abortion industry.