Kansas woman sues hospital over claims staff refused to give abortion in ‘heated’ political environment

A woman is suing a Kansas hospital for refusing to provide her an abortion, claiming officials said it was too “risky” to perform the procedure due to the “heated” political environment in the state.

Mylissa Farmer filed her lawsuit in Kansas City on Tuesday against the University of Kansas Health System. The lawsuit comes after Farmer went to the hospital on August 2, 2022, 18 weeks along with a pregnancy that was no longer viable because her water broke too early.

In June 2022, the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade, ending nationwide access to abortion.

On August 2 of that year, Kansas lawmakers were considering a referendum to eliminate the right to an abortion, which is listed in their state constitution. The referendum failed, and the right to an abortion remained in effect.

Farmer’s providers said an abortion would be too “risky” given the “‘heated political’ environment” in the state that day, she claims in the lawsuit.

As a result, Farmer traveled to Illinois to obtain an abortion two days later, but the delay “had already caused extensive damage to her health,” according to the lawsuit.

Farmer is arguing her providers violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The act is a federal law that requires hospitals to “provide stabilizing treatment” for emergency medical conditions. If the hospital cannot stabilize the patient, they must transfer the patient to a hospital that can, the law states.

Farmer is also arguing the hospital violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.

The University of Kansas Health System has denied Farmer’s claims. Jill Chadwick, media relations director for the hospital system, told The Independent that Farmer received “appropriate, non-discriminatory” care that complied “with all applicable law.”

“The specific care and treatment decisions made in a particular situation are guided by our exceptional practitioners and specialists and involve a number of factors, including the specifics of that patient’s condition, the appropriate treatments available at the time treatment decisions are being made, applicable law and sound medical judgment,” Chadwick said.

Abortion access has become more difficult across the nation since the end of Roe.

Abortion is banned outright, with few exceptions, in 14 states, all of which are Republican-controlled. Many people have since been forced to carry unwanted or dangerous pregnancies, while others are forced to travel hundreds of miles to obtain reproductive healthcare.

A new study released this week revealed more women have resorted to unsafe measures to end pregnancies since the Supreme Court decision.

The methods that women reported included eating herbs, drinking alcohol, hitting themselves in the stomach, inserting an object into their body and lifting heavy items, according to a peer-reviewed medical study.