In 2022, Kansas voters turned down a constitutional amendment that could have opened the door to more limits on abortion. Now, state and county officials are trying to undo a court ruling that struck down a set of old restrictions. The Kansas Attorney General and the Johnson County officials defending these laws should stop trying to reopen and retry the case, and let the ruling stand.

A group of abortion providers filed the case in 2023. After a seven-day trial in October 2025, Judge Christopher Jayaram, who now sits on the Kansas Supreme Court, issued a 260-page opinion this August. He found that the rules, some dating back to the 1990s, broke the right of Kansans to make decisions about their own bodies. The Kansas Supreme Court recognized that right in 2019.

The rules he struck down included a 24-hour waiting period, plus another 30-minute wait after seeing a provider. Doctors had to hand patients state-written materials in a required font and color, including false claims linking abortion to breast cancer and problems with future pregnancies. Patients had to be told at least five times that a medication abortion can be reversed, a method some consider experimental and potentially dangerous.

The state has already appealed. Even so, at a hearing on Tuesday, its lawyers asked a new judge to reopen the case, claiming the original judge was biased against the state’s religious witnesses. “The state had its day in court,” said Alice Wang, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the providers.

Kansas voters already said no to opening the door to more restrictions. A full trial has already reached a verdict. Starting the case over would drag patients and doctors back into years of uncertainty.

Sign the petition to tell Kansas officials to respect the voters, accept the ruling and stop trying to re-argue a decided case.