A proposed law intended to define corporal punishment in the Kansas statute, has recently been denied a hearing in the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee. If passed, the law would have permitted parents to legally hit their children hard enough to leave red marks or bruising. Current Kansas law allows spanking, but it does not specify details on how the punishment can be carried out. By dictating the manner in which a child could be physically chastised, proponents of the bill hoped it would protect children from abuse. The Doctors weigh in on the controversial form of discipline.
