THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011
PAGE 11
STATE
New regulations shut Kansas abortion clinic
BY BRITTANY NELSON
bnelson@kansan.com
Although abortions are legal in the state of Kansas, they may not be accessible beginning July 1 because of strict inspections of Kansas abortion clinics.
Aid for Women, in Kansas City, Kan., already has a revoked license that takes affect Thursday.
The state's new abortion clinic policy has stirred up controversy for prochoice advocates. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the room where the abortion is performed has to be between 68 and 73 degrees and needs to be 150 square feet, that includes fixed cabinets that comes with a janitor's closet of at least 50 square feet. The provider must keep 13 types of drugs on hand and have blood pressure cuffs available, among some other requirements. The patients also must remain in the recovery room for two hours after the procedure. These specific requirements do not apply to regular hospitals and surgical clinics.
Gov. Sam Brownback said the law was enacted to provide a safe environment for women at these clinics. Others disagree.
M. Jeffrey Pederson, office manager and CEO of Aid for Women, is outraged about the new law.
"It is like saying, 'Yes, you can drive, but only a Lamborghini is allowed.' It would be nice to have an ultra-luxurious hospital-like setting," he said.
Aid For Women is the first to have its license revoked under the new law. Among other things, the tile on its floor and the size of the recovery area did not meet state requirements.
Aid for Women is the smallest of the three abortion clinics in Kansas, and do not have the resources to adhere to the new regulations, Pederson said.
"With this new regulation, one-third of our clinic would be devoted
to recovery," Pederson said.
He also said he expects the other clinics to fail inspection as well.
"If women in Kansas want abortions, they're going to have to drive to Omaha, Denver, Tulsa or St. Louis."
Pro-life advocates think the new law will provide a safe environment for women. Joe Viviano, vice-president of Students for Life at KU, supports the new law.
"I think (Gov. Brownback) has a very strong concern for women," Viviano said. "There is a concern for the nature of abortion clinics. Hospitals don't have a history of violating regulations. In clinics, there are untrained staff and unsterilized equipment in use."
Earlier this year, Kansas doctor Herbert Hodes, who performs abortions, said there were five deaths in the past five years due to abortions. He retracted his statement, but Kansas Healing Arts Board-licensed abortionists said there were five deaths, although three did not occur on Kansas soil.
Democratic Socialists,doesn't agree with the new law.
Jackie Sewell, president of Young
"I think closing a clinic is not going to decrease abortion rates," Swell said. "Without these clinics available, it's more of a hassle for women and I really don't think it does any good to close them. People will find alternative ways whether or not they are safe."
Kathy Guth, nurse practitioner at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said health practitioners want to make sure their patients are safe. She said the tests on all medical clinics should be standardized.
"I do agree that there should be some type of regulation," Guth said. "I just hope that the new regulation isn't so one-sided. Hopefully, all practices will have the same test."
Pederson, whose career is now on hold, said he hasn't decided if Aid for Women will test the new law in court.
"It doesn't affect me personally, but we're putting our lives on the line," he said.
New laws for abortion providers in Kansas, including this one in Wichita, will come into effect on Thursday. Clinics are fighting the new regulations.
Chris Bronson/XANSAN
90K grant to fund student's research
RESEARCH
"Unfortunately, liver transplants are very hard to obtain," Mangus said. "You have to meet very specific criteria and a lot of patients aren't eligible for these transplants."
BY WESTON PLETCHER wpletcher@kansan.com
Her goal is to improve a treatment called hepatocyte
Mangus
tan, Kan., recently received a $90,000 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which will allow her to conduct liver regeneration
She will research ways to use moldable, injectable substance that helps treat liver ailments. There aren't any good treatment options right now for patients with liver cancer. The curative procedure now is to have a liver transplant, she said.
Emily Mangus fell in love with the liver organ when she was a junior in college at Kansas State University. Now as a University of Kansas doctoral student, she is conducting groundbreaking liver research at the University of Kansas as a doctoral student.
Mangus, who is from Manhat-
"I did some research on an innovative procedure for liver cancer patients and now I want to improve technology for those patients," Mangus said.
research.
"This technique right now is, instead of transplanting an entire liver, they'll just transplant individual liver cells and this technique isn't very efficient," she said. "What I'm trying to do is find an alternative way to deliver cells to the liver."
Mangus will conduct her research under the guidance of Cory Berkland and Michael Detamore, associate professors of chemical and petroleum engineering. Her research will also be in association with the University of Kansas Medical Center.
transplantation — where individual liver cells are transplanted into the liver — which is an emerging and potentially curative liver procedure. This procedure has a few limitations and concerns that Mangus is trying to address.
"She will be the first one to create this type of material," Detamore said. "She has the chance to be one of the first ones to use it for a liver regeneration application. She brings a new idea for new material for the new application, which we're trying to come up with as a team, but it is spearheaded by her efforts."