JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge’s decision to block Kansas from banning a common second-trimester abortion method could reshape the state’s legal climate on the issue.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks last week said the law prohibiting a procedure described by critics as dismembering a fetus likely creates too big an obstacle for women seeking abortions. His order will remain in effect until he reviews a lawsuit filed by an abortion rights group.

Hendricks also declared the Kansas Constitution creates a right to an abortion that’s at least as strong as what the U.S. Constitution provides.

Attorneys said if the ruling is upheld, Kansas courts eventually could join a handful of other states that protect abortion rights more than the U.S. Supreme Court. That could jeopardize restrictions upheld here in the past.