Committee backs changing state constitution to block Kentuckians’ right to an abortion
In a rushed vote on Thursday, Republicans on a House legislative committee hastily approved a bill that seeks to rescind Kentuckians’ constitutional right to an abortion, advancing the decades-old proposal further than it’s ever gone before.
The bill by state Rep. Joseph Fischer, a Fort Thomas Republican, takes state abortion restrictions a step further by enshrining in the state constitution that Kentuckians have no right to obtain or pay for an abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision is overturned.
It’s one of a handful of bills before this General Assembly to further tighten Kentucky’s already stringent laws dictating abortion access, but the only proposal that takes aim at amending the state constitution to do so.
Discussion of the bill came after committee members spent nearly two hours discussing and voting to approve a voter identification bill. Wanting to vacate the room for the next scheduled meeting, committee members interrupted Fischer’s introduction of the bill to put a motion of approval on the floor. Two bill opponents were allowed to speak, but more had signed up to testify.
The bill passed 11-7 with House Standing Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs members casting votes along party lines. Democrats who voted against the bill sharply chided fellow members for rushing through a proposal that Fischer minutes prior described as “the most consequential change to our constitution since 1891.”
House Minority Leader Joni Jenkins of Shively said this constitutional amendment would affect more than half the commonwealth’s population. To “make such a broad policy within a committee in 10 minutes,” she said, is “disrespectful” and “irresponsible.”
Not knowing the impact of what such a change would be, she said, “There is no reason to rush this through. These are very important life-threatening decisions that we’re making here.”
Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, said she was “ashamed” and “embarrassed by this committee in giving this issue such short shrift.”
Committee Republicans who voted in favor of the bill did not explain their votes.
The proposed amendment, which now moves to the full House for a vote, states: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to an abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
House Bill 67 has more than 30 sponsors and marks the fourth attempt by Fischer in more than 20 years — HB 251 in 2007, HB 549 in 2010, and HB 473 in 2018 — to pass such a bill before the General Assembly, according to the Legislative Research Commission.
Each time, the bill never received a committee hearing and had very few sponsors.
The three other failed attempts were made when Republicans were in the minority, Fischer said in January. “Now, it means something.”
Since Fischer filed the bill in early January, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear allowed Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky to apply for a license previously denied by former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin to provide abortions at its Louisville clinic. The organization has been given its provisional license, communications manager Nicole Erwin said Thursday afternoon, and plans to begin providing abortion services at the beginning of March.
The only other facility currently licensed in Kentucky to perform abortions is EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville.
No non-committee bill proponents spoke on Thursday morning. Jackie McGranahan, reproductive rights field organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, was one of two non-committee opponents allowed to speak.
“It’s time to stop people from imposing their personal beliefs and anti-abortion views on others,” she said. “You all should not have the authority to force someone to stay pregnant against their will.”
In Kentucky, voters get the ultimate say when it comes to altering the state constitution. If the bill is approved by the Republican-led legislature, the amendment would then be put to a statewide referendum in November. This question has never appeared on a ballot before in Kentucky, nor has any other abortion-related question, according to the LRC.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 1:26 PM.
