Kansas governor vetoes child support for fetuses

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas' Democratic governor on Friday vetoed a bill aimed at ensuring that child support payments cover fetuses, a measure critics saw as a move by anti-abortion groups toward giving them the same rights as the mothers-to-be carrying them.

The measure scuttled by Gov. Laura Kelly was similar to a Georgia law and measures introduced in at least five other states, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.

Supporters in the Republican-controlled Kansas legislature argued that they were trying to make sure that costs associated with a pregnancy and a birth are covered.

But Kelly, a strong supporter of abortion rights, called the measure “a blatant attempt” by “extreme” lawmakers to control women and families' private medical decisions.

She also said it conflicts with the will of voters statewide, who affirmed abortion rights in August 2022 — three years after the Kansas Supreme Court declared that the state constitution protects access to abortion as part of a “fundamental” right to bodily autonomy.

“Kansans already made it very clear that they don't want lawmakers involved in personal matters,” Kelly wrote. “It's time we listen to them.”

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.

“Now she won't allow women to have the potential for additional child support," said Jeanne Gawdun, a lobbyist for Kansans for Life, the state's most politically influential anti-abortion group.

“This will not deter those of us who actually have compassion for women in difficult situations.”

Legislators cannot consider overriding the latest veto because they adjourned their annual session May 1 — though they could pass another version during a special session Kelly has promised to call on cutting taxes.