Woman sues KU hospital for denial of emergency abortion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A woman claims she was denied an abortion at the University of Kansas Health System because of politics. Now she's suing the hospital in federal court.

Several law firms filed the suit on behalf of Mylissa Farmer.

Farmer, who lived near Joplin, Missouri at the time, was experiencing pregnancy complications on August 2nd, 2022. After calling her doctor, she was advised to go to the emergency room.

Doctors at the local ER determined she was having a miscarriage but, due to Missouri laws, would not perform an abortion. The lawsuit says Farmer was advised to seek care at an out-of-state emergency department, so she and her husband drove three hours to the University of Kansas Health System's Main Campus.

She was admitted to KU Hospital that night, which was the same night Kansas voters rejected the "Value Them Both" abortion referendum.

The lawsuit says the obstetrician on duty that evening would not perform procedures or give further treatment, saying it would "be too risky in the heated political environment". The hospital discharged her in the early morning hours of August 3rd.

Farmer ultimately got in at a clinic that would admit her in Illinois two days later. She was already a few days into her miscarriage. Farmer alleges she also suffered an infection due to the delay in care, causing her to have a longer recovery.

Farmer released a statement saying in part "she endured a horror no one should ever have to face." She went on to say she hopes to achieve justice and help others.

FOX4 reached out to the University of Kansas Health System who said they have not seen the lawsuit and therefore at this time, will not comment on it.