Kansas legislators send governor bill extending child support to fetuses at point of conception

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature sent Gov. Laura Kelly a bill directing the judicial system to recognize child-support claims on behalf of fetuses from conception to birth.

The legislation introduced on behalf of faith-based Kansas Family Voice and endorsed by anti-abortion lobbying organizations was described by a supporter as “simple and short” and by a critic as “very dangerous.”

It wouldn’t authorize child-support payments for medical expenses incurred during pregnancy if the woman received an “elective” abortion. The exception in Senate Bill 232 would be if an abortion was performed to save the life of a pregnant woman.

The bill was approved 82-38 in early April by the House and adopted 25-12 by the Senate on Friday following brief debate. Neither chamber adopted the bill by the two-thirds majority required to overturn a potential veto by the governor. She recently vetoed an abortion regulation bill for being excessively intrusive and a separate measure that would have created a crime of compelling someone to get an abortion.

“This bill is simple and short and does not effect a fundamental change in current Kansas law about the definition of a person, a human being or an unborn child,” said Sen. Kellie Warren, R-Leawood. “The real impact of this bill is helping women — helping women to pay for things.”

The Kansas Department for Children and Families said parental relationships were not legally established under state law until a live birth. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 12,700 children were born out of wedlock last year in the state.

Sen. Ethan Corson, a Johnson County Democrat, had urged colleagues to reject the bill. He said the innocuous-appearing legislation added a layer to state statute declaring Kansas law conferred personhood on a fetus at the moment of conception.

The legislation resembled an Alabama law relied on by the Alabama Supreme Court to declare embryos to be “extrauterine children” and that destruction of embryos created through in vitro fertilization could be illegal, Corson said.

“The impact of this bill is likely to be much more serious, much more sweeping and much broader in its application. Particularly, I think, if we’re going to say that fetuses now have legal rights,” Corson said.

He said the legislation conflicted with the decision of Kansas voters in August 2022 to defend the right to bodily autonomy in the Kansas Constitution, which was interpreted by the Kansas Supreme Court to guarantee a person’s right to end a pregnancy. Voters of Kansas overwhelmingly defeated a proposed amendment to the constitution that would have nullified the high court’s decision and make it easier for state lawmakers to impose additional restrictions on abortion.

“I know Kansas women right now are scared,” Corson said. “They want to make sure that this body (Senate) is going to protect their access to reproductive technology. Enacting a bill like this … is very dangerous.”

On the contrary, Warren said there were multiple references in Kansas health, family, criminal and probate law that advanced the belief human life began at conception. Signing SB 232 into law, she said, would merely add a factor for courts to consider when making determinations of child support.

“Fetal personhood is not what this bill is about,” the senator said. “Kansas statute has already determined the question. It is a settled issue. It’s not going to be some sea-level change of how our codes are looked at or our statutes are looked at.”

Other factors relied upon by state courts to work through child support cases included the basic needs and age of a child, financial standing of parents, educational requirements of a child as well as financial resources of the child.