In late February, on the floor of the Kansas House, Rep. Brenda Landwehr dropped the A-bomb. The Wichita Republican and anti-abortion lawmaker admitted that she'd had an abortion. She still lived with the pain, she said tearfully, "because I killed a baby." Landwehr's testimony came during the Legislature's annual ritual: an attempt to shut down abortion clinics by imposing tougher regulations on them. Mission Hills Republican Terrie Huntington, meanwhile, had amended the bill to require stricter licensing and more inspections at all clinics -- not just those providing abortions. Landwehr may regret her abortion, but her personal pain had nothing to do with regulating clinics, and her attempt at using emotion to sway her colleagues failed. The majority of the House voted with Huntington, whose amendment passed the House, 66-56. Huntington had refused to play political games; instead, she simply wanted to treat all medical clinics equally -- something the bulk of her colleagues could get behind. Too bad it later died in a Senate committee, setting up yet another replay next year.
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