Creating the abolish abortion Kansas act to make all abortions subject to criminal prosecution for violation of Alexa's law and to remove certain exceptions to the cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child when such death is caused by an abortion.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brett Fairchild and 2 co-sponsors

The bill would treat abortion as a criminal act under Alexa’s Law and make an unborn child a person for wrongful-death claims, expanding criminal and civil penalties.

Died in Committee

#abortion #crimes #punishmentandcriminalprocedure #namedacts

Purpose

HB 2171 would enact the “Abolish Abortion Kansas Act,” treating all abortions as criminal offenses under Alexa’s Law (K.S.A. 21-5419), and would remove or narrow statutory exceptions to wrongful-death causes of action for the death of an unborn child when that death is caused by an abortion. The bill frames its purpose as extending criminal and civil protections afforded to born persons to “unborn children” from fertilization onward.

Key provisions

Amends K.S.A. 21-5419 (Alexa’s Law) to define “unborn child” as a living human organism from fertilization to birth and to make abortion subject to the same criminal provisions and due-process protections that apply when the victim is a born person.

Amends K.S.A. 21-5206 (duress defense) to limit the availability of duress as a defense in homicide charges involving an unborn child — retaining it only where the defendant is the mother threatened with imminent death or great bodily harm.

Amends K.S.A. Supp. 60-1901 to treat an unborn child as a “person” for wrongful-death actions and removes certain exceptions that currently bar wrongful-death claims when the death results from a lawful medical procedure (including abortion) or a spontaneous miscarriage.

Repeals the existing versions of the amended sections and declares the act the “Abolish Abortion Kansas Act.”

Prospective application: the bill’s penal provisions apply prospectively and explicitly do not apply to conduct committed prior to July 1, 2025.

Declares policy findings invoking state constitutional language and prior court decisions.

Who would be affected

Pregnant persons and anyone who performs, assists, counsels, or refers for abortions.

Physicians and other licensed medical professionals providing reproductive health care.

Local health departments and clinics that receive federal Title X funding.

County and district attorneys (responsible for prosecutions), the Attorney General (potentially for defense litigation), the Judicial Branch, and the Department of Corrections/Sentencing Commission (potential increased caseloads/prison admissions).

Fiscal impact (from Kansas Division of the Budget, Feb 16, 2025)

Risk of loss of federal Title X funding: $3.5 million (FY2026) and $4.1 million (FY2027). KDHE estimates additional state funds would be needed to maintain services, and local health departments could lose 340B drug-cost benefits.

KDHE reports an estimated need of approximately $301,842 to maintain services tied to 12.00 positions (various funding shares).

Office of the Attorney General estimates defense/litigation costs of about $4.5 million (FY2026) and $512,672 (FY2027), including hiring 2 attorney positions and 2 legal assistants.

Judicial Branch and Sentencing Commission anticipate increased caseloads, prison admissions and workload, but cannot estimate total fiscal effect.

Procedural status & timeline

Introduced January 28, 2025.

Multiple committee referrals and withdrawals; most recent reported status: Withdrawn from Committee on Interstate Cooperation and rereferred to Committee on Health and Human Services.

Effective language: the act “shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book,” with the prospective application clause noted above.

Note: source materials include the Kansas fiscal note and the bill text; unrelated documents labeled “HB 2171” from other states appear in the packet but are not part of this Kansas measure.

Bill