Kansas Anti-Abortion Leaders Blame Courts For State's Abortion Access

Rep. Sharice Davids Tours Kansas Outside Her District, Fueling Senate Speculation

Big 12 Commissioner Targets Next TV Deal To Close Revenue Gap With SEC, Big Ten

Legislature Mandates Biological Sex For Restrooms, Invalidates Gender-Changed Documents

Arctic Air Returns To Kansas, Bringing Dangerous Wind Chills And Freezing Fog

Kansas Anti-Abortion Leaders Blame Courts For State's Abortion Access

Anti-abortion advocates gathered at the Kansas Statehouse Wednesday for the annual March for Life rally, displaying 19,000 dolls representing abortions performed in the state last year while Republican leaders blamed the Kansas Supreme Court for striking down abortion restrictions. Attorney General Kris Kobach told hundreds of attendees that Kansas has become "the abortion capital of the Midwest" due to court decisions, specifically criticizing the 2019 ruling that found the state constitution's bodily autonomy protections include abortion rights. Senate President Ty Masterson condemned what he called a modern "culture of death," while Kobach argued the court "twisted the meaning" of the state constitution when it affirmed its earlier decision in 2024 and struck down a ban on the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. The rally reflects Kansas's unusual political position on abortion rights, a state where conservative Republicans control the legislature but voters decisively rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment in August 2022 by nearly 60%. As author Thomas Frank explored in "What's the Matter with Kansas," the state has long embodied contradictions between its conservative political leadership and more moderate public opinion on social issues, with abortion politics serving as a particularly acute example of this tension. The Supreme Court's decisions have created what Kobach described as an "uphill fight" for defending anti-abortion laws, forcing abortion opponents to pursue legislative strategies despite unfavorable court precedents and voter sentiment.

Kansas Reflector

Rep. Sharice Davids Tours Kansas Outside Her District, Fueling Senate Speculation

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids plans a four-city tour entirely outside her 3rd Congressional District this week, visiting Topeka, Wichita, Dodge City and Colby in what observers view as preparation for a potential challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall's seat in November. The Kansas Democrat said the tour aims to hear Kansans' priorities on lowering consumer costs, protecting jobs, strengthening health care and keeping families safe, telling reporters that "groceries, health care, gas—everything is so expensive right now" and criticizing Washington policies for "causing more chaos" rather than making life easier. Davids's tour comes as Kansas Republicans have failed to pass redistricting legislation that would redraw her Johnson County-centered district to make her reelection more difficult, part of a White House strategy to gerrymander Democrats out of Congress, and as she publicly weighs whether to seek reelection to the House or run for Senate.

Kansas Reflector

Big 12 Commissioner Targets Next TV Deal To Close Revenue Gap With SEC, Big Ten

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told Kansas lawmakers his top priority is negotiating the conference's next television contract to reduce the revenue disparity with SEC and Big Ten schools, acknowledging that media rights—not commercial partnerships—drive the gap. Testifying Jan. 26 about college athletics, Yormark said the conference secured a 70% increase in its current deal with ESPN and Fox but hasn't been a free agent in television negotiations for over 20 years due to early contract extensions, leaving Big 12 schools at a financial disadvantage as they prepare for revenue sharing with athletes. While commercial partnerships with PayPal, Allstate, Monster Energy and others have increased 185% year over year, Yormark said these deals cannot entirely compensate for the lower media rights payments compared to the SEC and Big Ten, making the upcoming TV negotiations critical for the conference's competitive future.

Topeka Capital-Journal

Legislature Mandates Biological Sex For Restrooms, Invalidates Gender-Changed Documents

The Kansas Legislature passed sweeping legislation Wednesday restricting public restroom and facility access to biological sex and requiring the state to reissue driver's licenses and birth certificates with gender markers corrected to reflect sex assigned at birth. The House voted 87-36 and the Senate 30-9 to send the measure to Gov. Laura Kelly, who faces pressure from both sides on the emotionally charged bill that requires multiple-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms and domestic violence shelters in public buildings to be designated for single-sex use with criminal and civil penalties for violations. Republican supporters argued the legislation protects women's privacy and safety, while Democratic critics called it discriminatory against transgender Kansans and warned it could harm the state's economy by deterring businesses and events from locating in Kansas.

Arctic Air Returns To Kansas, Bringing Dangerous Wind Chills And Freezing Fog

Arctic air moving into Kansas will produce dangerous wind chills near zero degrees and patchy freezing fog Thursday morning, with temperatures plunging into the teens by Saturday and creating frostbite conditions. Freezing fog will affect areas along and south of I-70 between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Thursday due to recent snow melt over snow-covered areas, potentially creating slick spots on elevated surfaces during the morning commute in south-central Kansas. High temperatures will drop into the 20s Thursday and Friday before falling to the teens Saturday, with morning wind chills feeling like ten to fifteen degrees below zero and making frostbite possible on exposed skin in 30 to 45 minutes, while additional snow showers expected Friday along and west of I-135 will bring minimal accumulation without widespread travel troubles.

KWCH

Sources

1. Kansas Reflector
2. Kansas Reflector
3. Topeka Capital-Journal
4. KWCH

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