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Catholic Kansas Gov. Sebelius Vetoes Restrictions on Late-Term Abortion

Bill's sponsor pledges to work to override veto

By Michael Baggot

TOPEKA, KS, April 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-abortion Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill on Monday that would regulate abortion procedures in the state that is infamous for its high number of late-term abortions.

Senate Bill 389 would have offered women the option of viewing ultrasound images of their preborn child, tightened up the requirements for obtaining a late-term abortion, and would have allowed a patient, spouse, or family to sue an abortion provider over a suspected unlawful late-term abortion.

"Over the last several years, we have worked on lowering abortion rates in Kansas by focusing on adoption incentives, extended health services for pregnant women, providing sex education and offering a variety of support services for families," wrote Sebelius in a Monday press release.

"SB 389 allows a variety of individuals to seek a court order preventing a woman from obtaining an abortion, even where it may be necessary to save her life," she added.

Sebelius also argued that SB 389 "unnecessarily jeopardizes the privacy of Kansas women's confidential medical records." She concluded, "As Governor, nothing is more important to me than the safety, health and privacy rights of our citizens.  I am vetoing SB 389 because it endangers the health of women and is likely to be found in violation the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Kansas."

In a March 31 Kansascity.com editorial, Mary Kay Culp, State Executive Director of Kansans for Life, noted, amongst other things, that Sebelius' concerns about privacy were moot, since under the House equivalent of SB 389, the attorney general or district attorneys involved in investigating abortionists would receive nameless files, not personal medical records of patients.

"Sebelius gave all kinds of false excuses, but the real question Sebelius must answer is why she would veto a law which simply gives women more information when considering abortion, allows them to see their baby on ultrasound if they so request, attempts to avoid coerced abortions of sexually abused minors, and in no way prevents a legal, non-coerced abortion from taking place," said Culp.

"I will do everything in my power to work to override this veto," stated Rep. Lance Kinzer, the bill's sponsor.

While the House passed the bill with enough votes to override the veto, the bill passed through the Senate with two fewer votes than needed to override the veto.  Rep. Kinzer and other supporters of the bill will have another chance to override the governor's veto when the legislature resumes on April 30.

In May 2006, Sebelius vetoed Senate Bill 528, which would have required documentation justifying the performance of late-term abortions.  Sebelius claimed at the time that her Catholic faith taught the sanctity of human life and that she was personally opposed to abortion.

In response to Sebelius's call to make abortion "safe, legal, and rare," Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City wrote, "Abortion is never safe because it always results in the death of a child.  One can hardly call abortion rare when there are more than a million performed every year in the United States and more than 45 million performed since abortion's legalization in 1973."

"It is never permissible for a Catholic to support the legalization of the killing of innocent lives by abortion, much less to lead the fight for legal abortion."

"Reviewing the record of Gov. Sebelius when she served in the Kansas House of Representatives, it is difficult to find a single instance, either in a procedural or substantive vote, where she acted in a manner that would afford unborn children the maximum protection.  In the 1980s and 1990s then - Representative Sebelius voted to weaken or eliminate even such modest measures as parental notification, waiting periods and informed consent," added Archbishop Naumann.

Noting the political corruption that may have influenced Sebelius's voting record, Archbishop Naumann wrote, "Her vetoes of these clinic regulation bills were even more troubling in light of her history of accepting campaign contributions from George Tiller, the Wichita abortionist, who has gained a national reputation for performing late term abortions."

Tiller has donated over $38,000 in political funding to Sebelius since 1994.

See pervious related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Bishop Criticizes Governor for Citing Her Catholic Faith While Vetoing Bill Limiting Late-Term Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06091401.html

Read a detailed outline of what the vetoed bill proposed:
http://www.lancekinzer.com/hb2736testimony.html

To learn about Abortionist George Tiller, see Operation Rescues organized summary:
http://www.operationrescue.org/?page_id=904

Learn about Kansas for Life:
http://www.kfl.org

Contact Gov. Sebelius:
Office of the Governor
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 212S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590
Voice 1-877-KSWORKS (1-877-579-6757)
Local 785-296-3232
For the Hearing Impaired 1-800-766-3777
http://www.governor.ks.gov/comments/comment.htm

Contact Gov. Sebelius's Bishop:
Archbishop Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann
12615 Parallel Parkway
Kansas City, KS 66109
Phone: (913) 721-1570
FAX: (913) 721-1577

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