I am not used to good news from Kansas, but here it is.
www.npr.org/…
The decision, in which one of the seven justices dissented, cites in its first sentence the first section of the Kansas Constitution's Bill of Rights: "All men are possessed of equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The decision continues: "We are now asked: 'Is this declaration of rights more than an idealized aspiration? And, if so, do the substantive rights include a woman's right to make decisions about her body, including the decision whether to continue her pregnancy? We answer these questions, 'Yes.' "
The court continued that "this right allows a woman to make her own decisions regarding her body, health, family formation, and family life — decisions that can include whether to continue a pregnancy."
"The State may only infringe upon the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy," the ruling continued, "if the State has a compelling interest and has narrowly tailored its actions to that interest."
The Republicans are of course, attempting to amend their Constitution to exclude Women from those accorded inalienable rights, but as the new status quo, this Kansas Supreme Court decision is laudable.
Read the entire NPR article, which goes the extra mile to point out that Kansas is the state where anti-abortion terrorist Scott Roeder murdered Dr. George Tiller in his own church. There are a few brief lights still capable in our judiciary, and as the DOJ becomes fully a Trump Weapon, we need to look at the state level to wage some of our battles. So raise a glass to Hodes and Nauser, who brought this lawsuit to completion on behalf of all women of Kansas.
Update: Right, this story is a bit old by DKos standards, at April 26th 2019. It made the rounds, but not for me. I missed it completely in my usual news perusals and it popped up on a friend’s social media account. I apologize for making it sound like “news” but it is so uncharacteristic for Kansas or any Red State. It also took me a while to find the Edit button. I haven’t bothered with a DKos diary since 2012. So thanks to the responders who got to this story a month ago and pointing it out. Cheers.