TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The latest on Kansas’ first-in-the nation ban on a procedure that anti-abortion activists call “dismemberment abortion”

The state of Kansas is defending its ban on a procedure that opponents refer to as “dismemberment abortion.”

An abortion rights group on Thursday will ask a Kansas judge to block the ban. The Center for Reproductive Rights says the procedure is the most common method for terminating second-trimester pregnancies. It contends the new law would force some women to either accept higher medical risks or forgo abortions.

But the state says abortion providers have safe alternatives to the procedure.

Thursday’s hearing before District Judge Larry Hendricks comes just six days before the ban takes effect.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is asking him to block it at least until its lawsuit is heard.

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JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An abortion rights group is asking a Kansas judge to block the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on what it says is the most common method for terminating second-trimester pregnancies.

Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks has scheduled a hearing Thursday in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The law takes effect next week. The center contends it will force women to accept higher medical risks or forgo abortions.

Lawyers for the state argue that abortion providers have safe alternatives to what anti-abortion activists describe as dismembering a fetus.

The National Right to Life Committee drafted the ban as model legislation for states. Kansas was the first to enact it.

The center represents father-daughter abortion providers and Drs. Herbert Hodes and Traci Nauser of Overland Park.