The Kansas state Senate gave first round approval to an anti-abortion bill that would define life as beginning at the point of fertilization with a voice vote yesterday. The final vote is expected to occur today.

House Bill 2253 attacks abortion access on multiple fronts. HB 2253 requires that abortion providers supply women with a list of organizations that provide abortion alternatives, prevents any abortion facility from receiving state funding or tax credits, and requires doctors to provide patients with medically inaccurate information. The bill also defines life as beginning at the point of fertilization.

Pro-choice legislatures attempted to amend the bill to protect some access to abortion care and birth control, which some fear will be threatened with the new language. However, they all failed.

The state Senate decision will come the same week that a new abortion clinic will open in Wichita, Kansas. It will be the first provider in the city since the murder of Dr. George Tiller in 2009.

(source: Ms. Magazine)