Kansas governor signs ban on abortion procedure

TOPEKA , Kan., April 8 (UPI) -- Kansas became the first state to ban so-called "dismemberment abortions," a common procedure used in second-trimester abortions.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican and longtime abortion opponent, outlawed the procedure defined in part as "knowingly dismembering a living unborn child and extracting such unborn child one piece at a time from the uterus."

Supporters see the new law as groundbreaking for its impact on national abortion laws and procedures, while opponents see it as a dangerous flirtation with abortion restrictions nationwide.

The law does not spell out medical terminology, but simply bans dilation and evacuation procedures. It allows the procedure when "necessary to protect the life or health of the mother."

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri criticized the law as "atrocious."

"Planned Parenthood is disappointed but not surprised by the signing of Senate Bill 95, which was written not by physicians and medical experts, but by a national interest group bent on banning abortion across the country," Laura McQuade, the group's president and CEO, said in a statement.

National Right to Life President Carol Tobiassaid she hopes the Kansas law opens the door to other states doing the same.

"This law has the power to transform the landscape of abortion policy in the United States," she said.

Proud to sign SB95 protecting life at its most vulnerable stage with bipartisan support from #ksleg. pic.twitter.com/BFHmNM1FnI

— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) April 7, 2015