Wichita, Kan., May 2, 2019 / 15:10 pm
By a single vote, the Kansas legislature failed to override a governor's veto of a bill requiring doctors who administer the two-pill abortion drug regimen to tell women that the abortion pill can be reversed.
In the Kansas Senate, 27 senators voted to override. Only 83 legislators in the House of Representatives voted to override, one short of the two-thirds majority needed.
Rep. Jan Kessinger, an Overland Park Republican, had voted for the bill but voted against override. Citing discussions with constituents with different views of the bill, he said he decided the issue needs more research, the Wichita Eagle reports. Kessinger said he doesn't believe the legislature should be "in the medical practice," and the bill is not necessarily the best medical decision but he also does not believe the bill will be harmful.
The initial passage of Senate Bill 67 had drawn some support from several Democratic legislators, but they did not back an override of the veto from Gov. Laura Kelly. Kelly, a Democrat, had campaigned on support of legal abortion and had criticized a Democratic gubernatorial primary rival for voting in favor of abortion restrictions in the Kansas legislature.