Kansas extremists can’t ban abortion. So they’ve decided to harass innocent women instead.

A bunch of archconservative Kansas Republicans would love nothing more than to ban abortion for all women in all circumstances. Because our state Supreme Court ruled that the Kansas Constitution protects the right to bodily autonomy — and because Kansas voted overwhelmingly to preserve that right — that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

So anti-abortion activists have settled on a new tactic: harassing women who want to terminate their pregnancies.

On Thursday, the Kansas House passed House Bill 2749, which would require abortion providers to ask every woman receiving an abortion a list of 11 intrusive, personal, private questions. In case you wonder whether the bill was introduced for benign reasons, just know it was requested by the state’s leading anti-abortion group, Kansans for Life.

The number of brave legislators who voted against this blatant intrusion into your personal freedom? Thirty-nine.

Eighty-one voted for it.

Frankly, it’s not the state’s business why any individual has any health care procedure. Abortion is safe and effective, and it has lower complication rates than other common surgeries. But lawmakers want to harass those exercising their personal freedoms anyway. Why? Because they want to dissuade women from getting abortions. It’s that simple. And if they have to barrage them with unwanted questions to do so, they will.

As Rep Brenda Landwehr said during debate on Wednesday: “This bill was not taken lightly. We just want to have more information. Make sure we’re making the right decision for these women.”

What about the women themselves? What about their decisions?

Perhaps you think I’m overstating the case. You know how us aggressive, progressive opinion editors can be. That’s why I’ve taken the liberty of digging into the bill and sharing all of the questions with you now. I’ve rephrased them slightly from the original text (which can be read here), to illustrate how a doctor or other health care provider might ask them:

• Will having a baby interfere with the your education, employment or career?
• Are you unable to provide for the child?
• Do you already have enough, or too many, children?
• Is your husband or partner abusive to you or your children?
• Does your husband or partner want you to have an abortion?
• Do you not have enough support from family or others to raise a child?
• Is your pregnancy the result of rape?
• Is your pregnancy is the result of incest?
• Does this pregnancy threaten your physical health?
• Does this pregnancy threaten your mental or emotional health?
• Would your child have a disability?

An earlier version of the bill featured four additional questions. They were even more intrusive. Here they are, again slightly rephrased:

• Do you not feel mature enough to raise a child or, if applicable, an additional child?
• Do your parents want you to have an abortion?
• Do you not want others to know that you had sexual intercourse or became pregnant?
• Do you fear that you would neglect or abuse an unwanted child?

You’ll notice that lawmakers removed the most harassing questions from the list. They understand the horrible optics of what they’re doing. but they just can’t stop. So many of them so very much want to ban abortion.

Yes, women can refuse to answer these questions. But the law instructs that all refusals be recorded as well.

It’s all so invasive. It’s all so personal.

Delving into someone’s decision to terminate a pregnancy entails digging into the circumstances of conception — hence the questions about rape and incest — and the way in which they live. Several questions carry implied judgment from lawmakers toward women’s lives and sexual decisions. They all work together to dissuade someone from making a free choice.

Landwehr outright stated last month that she would personally prefer banning abortion in all cases unless the woman’s life was in danger or the pregnancy comes from rape or incest.

I’m sure a fair number of Republicans don’t actually want to do this. They don’t actually want to support this bill. They likely voted against the constitutional amendment on Aug. 2, 2022, along with 60% of their fellow Kansans. But Kansans for Life carries incredible political weight for GOP members. It has money to spend and devoted supporters. Republicans who vote against the group’s preferred polices can be targeted in primary races.

Bills like this one allow Kansans for Life to perpetuate its own kind of abuse — the abuse of democratic processes to elect even more extremists.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.