SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2436
As Recommended by Senate Committee on
Federal and State Affairs
Brief*
Senate Sub. for HB 2436 would create the crime of
coercion to obtain an abortion and create a special
sentencing rule that would apply to persons convicted of
certain crimes against a victim with the intent to compel an
abortion.
Coercion to Obtain an Abortion
The bill would create the crime of coercion to obtain an
abortion. The crime would be defined as engaging in coercion
with both the knowledge a woman is pregnant and the intent
to compel such woman to obtain an abortion when such
woman has expressed her desire to not obtain an abortion.
Penalty
The bill would classify the offense of coercion to obtain
an abortion as a nongrid person felony with a sentence of
between 30 days and 1 year imprisonment and a fine of $500
to $5,000.
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org Increased Penalty
The penalty for the coercion to obtain an abortion
offense would be raised to a sentence between 90 days and
1 year imprisonment and a fine between $1,000 and $10,000
if:
●The offense was committed by the father or
putative father of the unborn child who is 18 years
of age or older at the time of the offense; and
●The offense is committed against a pregnant
woman who is under the age of 18.
Definitions
The bill would define the following terms:
●“Abortion” would mean the same as defined in
public health law;
●“Coercion” would mean any of the following:
○Threatening to harm or physically restrain an
individual or the creation or execution of any
scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause an
individual to believe that failure to perform an
act would result in financial harm to, or
physical restraint of, an individual;
○Abusing or threatening abuse of the legal
system including threats of arrest or
deportation without regard to whether the
individual being threatened is subject to arrest
or deportation under state or federal law;
○Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing,
confiscating, or possessing any actual or
purported passport or other immigration
document or any other actual or purported
government identification document from an
2- 2436 individual without regard to whether the
documents are fraudulent or fraudulently
obtained; or
○Facilitating or controlling an individual’s
access to a controlled substance, as defined
in public health law, and amendments thereto,
other than for legitimate medical purpose;
●“Financial harm“ would mean any of the following:
○Any loan, promissory note, or other credit
instrument that provides for interest at a rate
that is prohibited by state or federal law;
○Any employment contract or other agreement
for the payment of wages that violates the
Wage Payment Act;
○Extortion as defined in the Kansas Criminal
Code; or
○Any other adverse financial consequence;
and
●“Unborn child” would mean a living individual
organism of the species Homo sapiens, in utero, at
any stage of gestation from fertilization to birth.
Special Sentencing Rule
The bill would create a special sentencing rule that
would apply when a trier of fact makes a finding beyond a
reasonable doubt that an offender committed certain acts,
enumerated by the bill, including an attempt or conspiracy of
such act with knowledge that a woman is pregnant and with
intent that the act will compel the woman to obtain an
abortion, despite the woman having expressed a desire not to
obtain an abortion.
The bill would apply the special sentencing rule to the
following crimes and other offenses as defined in the statutes:
3- 2436 ●Kidnapping;
●Interference with parental custody;
●Criminal restraint;
●Assault;
●Battery;
●Domestic battery;
●Criminal threat;
●Human trafficking;
●Stalking;
●Blackmail;
●Endangerment;
●Rape;
●Criminal sodomy;
●Sexual battery;
●Indecent liberties with a child;
●Unlawful voluntary sexual relations;
●Indecent solicitation of a child;
●Electronic solicitation;
●Sexual exploitation of a child;
●Sexual extortion;
●Endangering a child;
●Abuse of a child;
●Incest; and
●Abandonment of a child.
Enforcement of Penalty
For offenses classified in severity level 2 through 10, the
bill would enhance the penalty one severity level above the
severity level classification assigned in law.
For offenses classified in severity level 1, the bill would
require a penalty of imprisonment for life, without eligibility for
probation or suspension, modification, or reduction of the
sentence. Further, the bill would specify the offender would
4- 2436 not be eligible for parole prior to serving 25 years’
imprisonment, and that 25 years could not be reduced by the
application of good time credits. However, if the offender’s
criminal history classification would mean the offense would
carry a penalty of presumptive imprisonment of a term to
exceed 300 months, the offender would be required to serve
a mandatory minimum term of the applicable number of
months under the sentencing grid.
[Note: Under continuing law, Kansas’ sentencing
guidelines for nondrug crimes utilize a grid containing the
crime severity level (1 to 5, 1 being the highest severity level)
and the offender’s criminal history score (A to I, A being the
highest criminal history score) to determine the presumptive
sentence for an offense.]
The bill would specify the escalated sentence would not
be considered a departure or subject to appeal.
Background
The Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
removed the contents of HB 2436, inserted the contents of
SB 527, and recommended a substitute bill be passed.
[Note: As passed by the House, HB 2436 would have
created the Kansas Public Investments and Contracts
Protection Act and would amend law governing the Kansas
Public Employees Retirement Fund and investment
standards. Similar provisions were enacted in 2023 HB 2100.]
SB 527 (Coercion to Obtain an Abortion)
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Federal and State Affairs at the request of Senator O’Shea.
[Note: Provisions of the bill are similar to those of HB
2813.]
5- 2436 Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by Representative Schmoe and representatives
of Kansas Catholic Conference, Kansas Family Voice, and
Kansans for Life. The proponents generally stated the bill
would protect women from coercion to obtain an abortion,
promote the value and dignity of all individuals by allowing
individuals to choose whether to have an abortion, and
provide an additional tool for prosecutors to seek justice for
women.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of A Better Choice and Project 2 Restore.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Charlotte Lozier Institute who provided information about
the prevalence of coercion and unwanted abortion.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by a
representative of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual &
Domestic Violence.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a
representative of the Kansas Birth Justice Society.
Fiscal Information
SB 527 (Coercion to Obtain an Abortion)
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on SB 527, the Board of Indigents’ Defense
Services (Board) indicates the bill would increase agency
expenditures on legal counsel and support staff by unknown
amounts. The Board estimates that, on average, low-level
person felony cases require 35 hours of direct work by an
attorney to provide constitutionally adequate representation.
Based on the rates of $83.36 per hour for public defenders
6- 2436 and $120 per hour for assigned counsel, each new low-level
person felony case brought to the agency would result in
State General Fund (SGF) expenditures of $2,918 to $4,200.
The Board indicates that mid-level felonies require 57 hours
of attorney case work, while high-level felonies require 99
hours of attorney case work. Therefore, each low-level felony
that is upgraded to a mid-level felony would require the
agency to perform 22 hours of additional work at a cost of
$1,834 to $2,640 SGF. Each mid-level felony that is upgraded
to a high-level felony would require 42 hours of additional
work at a cost of $3,501 to $5,040 SGF.
The Judiciary indicates that the bill has the potential to
increase the number of cases filed in district courts. This may
increase agency operating expenditures due to the additional
time spent by district court judicial and nonjudicial personnel
in processing, researching, and hearing cases. However, the
Judiciary is unable to calculate an exact estimate of this
effect. The bill has the potential to increase the collection of
docket fees and fines, which are deposited in the SGF;
however, the amount of additional collections is unknown.
The Sentencing Commission indicates that the bill has
the potential to increase prison admissions and beds by a
negligible amount. The Department of Corrections indicates
that the bill may increase agency operating expenditures by a
negligible amount that could be accommodated within
existing resources. Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates that the
bill has the potential to increase operating expenditures for
county jails. The League of Kansas Municipalities did not
provide an estimate of the bill’s fiscal effect on cities.
Crimes; abortion; coercion; sentencing guidelines
7- 2436