Delving into potential life-or-death situations, the bill provides clear guidelines for doctors in such emergencies while maintaining Kentucky's strict prohibitions against abortion, its GOP supporters said.
“It ensures women facing life-threatening situations receive timely, appropriate medical care, and gives providers the legal certainty they need to act decisively,” said Republican state Rep. Jason Nemes.
Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban has been in place since a so-called trigger law took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe-v-Wade in 2022. The Bluegrass State bans abortions except when carried out to save a mother’s life. Efforts to add exceptions for cases of rape or incest or when pregnancies are nonviable have made no headway in Kentucky's Republican-supermajority legislature.
With only a handful of days left in this year's 30-day legislative session, a Senate committee attached the abortion-related language to a bill dealing with birthing centers Wednesday night.
The bill cleared both the Senate and House on Thursday and now goes to the state's pro-abortion Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
