TOPEKA — Crisis pregnancy centers could reap protections under a bill passed by Kansas Republicans exempting centers from regulations that forbid or force centers to perform abortions.
The “center autonomy and rights of expression act,” or CARE act, establishes a regulatory shield for crisis pregnancy centers, sometimes called pregnancy resource centers. The bill says centers should be allowed to provide their own information, services and resources on pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, regardless of whether they perform abortions or prescribe abortion-inducing medications.
“Too many women feel abortion is their only option,” said Danielle Underwood, associate executive director of Kansans for Life, the anti-abortion nonprofit behind the bill. “House Bill 2635 ensures that organizations walking with women who choose life are free from the kind of harassment seen in states like New Jersey in Massachusetts.”
Kansas is home to 44 crisis pregnancy centers and seven abortion clinics. The state has given more than $7 million to crisis pregnancy centers since 2022 through its Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program.
Medical experts have found that crisis pregnancy centers can delay access to health care. They also can promulgate inaccurate information about abortion pill reversal treatment, evade regulatory oversight and target low-income populations, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The Senate voted 31-9 along party lines Thursday to pass the bill. It followed the House’s 87-37 vote in February. The bill will go to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who can veto the bill, sign it, or let it become law without her signature. If she chooses to veto, a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate are required to override it.
The bill prohibits state and local governments from imposing regulations on centers. That includes requiring centers to perform abortions, counsel clients in favor of abortion, post materials promoting abortion, restrict pregnancy and parenting services, or staff centers with people “who do not affirm the center’s mission or pro-life ethic.”
Anti-abortion groups see crisis pregnancy centers as bastions of “life-affirming care.” They are a risk of “censorship and malicious investigations simply because of these centers’ pro-life views,” wrote Brittany Jones, president of the conservative Christian nonprofit Kansas Family Voice, in February testimony.
But abortion providers see the centers differently. Taylor Morton, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said in February testimony that centers “are explicitly anti-abortion organizations that advertise pregnancy- related services yet operate with the intention of persuading pregnant people against seeking abortion care.”
