Kris Kobach was an out-of-touch anti-abortion extremist who attacked Kansas’ abortion access and called for passing more anti-abortion laws.
In 2026, Kobach claimed Kansas was the “abortion capital of the midwest.” He also claimed the Kansas Supreme Court “invented an invisible right to an abortion” and previously said it would be a “mistake” for the Kansas Supreme Court to rule on an “unwritten right to an abortion in Kansas.”
In 2023, Kobach asked the Kansas Supreme Court to reconsider Kansas’ fundamental right to abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the right in 2024, which Kobach called “disappointing.”
Kobach repeatedly threatened Kansans’ access to abortion medication. In 2023, Kobach blasted Walgreens for planning to distribute mifepristone nationally, resulting in Walgreens saying they would not distribute or mail the abortion-inducing medication in Kansas. Kobach also signed onto a legal brief in support of a lawsuit seeking to block FDA approval for mifepristone to effectively ban abortion medication nationwide. He also filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the FDA’s approval of abortion-inducing pills by mail.
Kobach defended extreme anti-abortion laws in court, including Kansas’ ban on a second-trimester procedure and additional licensing requirements for abortion clinics.
2026: Kobach Claimed Kansas Was The “Abortion Capital Of The Midwest” And Attacked Courts For Allowing Abortion Access In Kansas. According to the Kansas Reflector, “The rally’s speakers took aim at a modern ‘culture of death,’ in the words of Senate President Ty Masterson, and blamed courts for abortion being allowed in Kansas, as Attorney General Kris Kobach said. ‘Kansas has really become, unfortunately, the abortion capital of the Midwest,’ Kobach said. ‘So how did we get there?’” [Kansas Reflector, 1/28/26]
2026: Kobach Claimed The Kansas Supreme Court “Invented An Invisible Right To Abortion In The Kansas Constitution” In 2019, Further Alleging The Court “Twisted The Meaning” Of The Constitution. According to the Kansas Reflector, “Then Kobach pointed across the street at the Kansas Supreme Court building. ‘As you may know, a few years ago, the court invented an invisible right to abortion in the Kansas Constitution,’ he said. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court decided the Kansas Constitution’s right to bodily autonomy includes terminating a pregnancy. A few years later, almost 60% of Kansas voters who participated in the August 2022 primary election rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure. The Supreme Court in 2024 affirmed its earlier decision and struck down a state law that banned the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Kobach said the Kansas Supreme Court ‘twisted the meaning’ of the state constitution, creating an uphill fight to defend anti-abortion laws in court.” [Kansas Reflector, 1/28/26]
2018: Kobach Said It Would Be A “Mistake” For The Kansas Supreme Court To Rule On An “Unwritten Right To An Abortion In Kansas” And Called For Passing More Anti-Abortion Laws. According to Kris Kobach on KSNT (NBC), “ANCHOR: Kobach said if the court rules in favor of the state. He'd like to see more pro-life laws passed, but wasn't specific as to what those laws would entail. KOBACH: If the Supreme Court doesn't make that mistake of creating an unwritten right to an abortion in Kansas, then I would continue. For legislation, pro-life legislation, as we've seen over the past few years that has strengthened the pro-life cause in Kansas.” [Kris Kobach – KSNT (NBC), 8/4/18] (VIDEO)
2024: After Kobach Defended Anti-Abortion Laws, The Kansas Supreme Court Affirmed Abortion Protections In Kansas’ Constitution, Which Kobach Called “Disappointing.” According to the New York Times, “The Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed abortion protections in the state’s Constitution on Friday, striking down Republican-backed laws that banned a common second-trimester abortion procedure and created additional licensing requirements for abortion clinics. […] Attorney General Kris W. Kobach, a Republican whose office defended the laws in court, said in a statement that ‘the decision is as disappointing as it is unsurprising’ and criticized the justices for finding that the State Constitution included a right to abortion.” [New York Times, 7/5/24]
2023: Kobach Asked The Kansas Supreme Court To Reconsider A Landmark Decision Protecting Access To Abortion Due To The Overturning Of Roe V. Wade. According to the Associated Press, “Kansas’ anti-abortion Republican attorney general is asking the state’s highest court to reconsider a landmark decision protecting access to abortion months after a decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights. Attorney General Kris Kobach said Wednesday that one reason for the Kansas Supreme Court to reconsider its 2019 ruling is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade and declaring that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t grant a right to abortion access. The Kansas court is set to consider that issue and others in two abortion cases on Jan. 30, though Kobach said he is likely to ask for a few weeks’ delay because he took office only Monday.” [Associated Press, 1/11/23]
2023: Walgreens Said They Would Not Distribute Or Mail The Abortion Drug Mifepristone In Kansas After Kobach Blasted The Company For Planning To Distribute Mifepristone Nationally. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, “Walgreens officials are not planning to distribute the abortion drug mifepristone in Kansas, Attorney General Kris Kobach said Monday, weeks after Kobach sent a letter to the pharmacy giant blasting their move to distribute the pill in pharmacies nationally. In the original Feb. 6 letter, Kobach said he would ‘not hesitate’ to enforce Kansas law in opposition to the company's plans, though the law he cited is currently on pause pending a court challenge. In the company's response, Walgreens' executive vice president and chief legal officer Danielle Gray said Walgreens ‘does not intend to dispense Mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship Mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies.’ ‘If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you,’ Gray wrote in the Feb. 17 letter, leaving open the possibility that a change in Kansas' law regarding telemedicine abortions could change Walgreens' posture.” [Topeka Capital-Journal, 2/20/23]
2023: Kobach Signed Onto A Legal Brief In Support Of A Lawsuit Seeking To Block FDA Approval For Mifepristone. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, “Abortion pills are becoming a national point of contention after the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade last summer. Kobach signed onto a legal brief supporting a Texas lawsuit, filed by abortion opponents, seeking to block FDA approval for mifepristone. In Kansas, a majority of abortions are induced with the drug and that is set to only expand after Planned Parenthood began offering telemedicine abortions in the state last year.” [Topeka Capital-Journal, 2/20/23]
2023: Kobach Filed An Amicus Brief Urging The U.S. Supreme Court To Reject The FDA’s Approval Of Abortion-Inducing Pills By Mail. According to WIBW, “Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach today joins a coalition of attorneys general urging U.S. Supreme Court to reiterate people’s right to regulate abortion. Attorney General Kobach announced he filed an amicus brief, along with 20 other attorneys general, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the FDA’s attempt to push a national mail-order abortion regime in violation of federal law, state laws, and the Court’s Dobbs opinion. ‘The law is absolutely clear that the mailing of abortion pills is illegal. That law must be enforced,’ Kobach said.” [WIBW, 4/18/23]
2024: Kobach Defended Republican-Backed Laws That Prohibited A Second-Trimester Abortion Procedure And Imposed Additional Licensing Requirements For Abortion Providers. According to the New York Times, “The Kansas Supreme Court reaffirmed abortion protections in the state’s Constitution on Friday, striking down Republican-backed laws that banned a common second-trimester abortion procedure and created additional licensing requirements for abortion clinics. […] Attorney General Kris W. Kobach, a Republican whose office defended the laws in court, said in a statement that ‘the decision is as disappointing as it is unsurprising’ and criticized the justices for finding that the State Constitution included a right to abortion.” [New York Times, 7/5/24]
2018: Kobach Said It Would Be A “Mistake” For The Kansas Supreme Court To Rule On An “Unwritten Right To An Abortion In Kansas” And Called For Passing More Anti-Abortion Laws. According to Kris Kobach on KSNT (NBC), “ANCHOR: Kobach said if the court rules in favor of the state. He'd like to see more pro-life laws passed, but wasn't specific as to what those laws would entail. KOBACH: If the Supreme Court doesn't make that mistake of creating an unwritten right to an abortion in Kansas, then I would continue. For legislation, pro-life legislation, as we've seen over the past few years that has strengthened the pro-life cause in Kansas.” [Kris Kobach – KSNT (NBC), 8/4/18] (VIDEO)