KY lawmakers give attorney general power to stop abortions during COVID-19 pandemic
Before Kentucky legislators wrapped up this year’s law-making session late Wednesday night, they approved a controversial measure to give Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron authority to stop abortions during the coronanvirus pandemic.
It also protects infants “born alive” after a failed abortion.
Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said the action in the final hours of the session by the Republican-led legislature was a political move designed to force Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to veto the measure.
Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, called Beshear “a hypocrite” for keeping the state’s two abortion facilities open during the pandemic while stopping other elective medical procedures.
An amended version of Senate Bill 9 declares abortion to be an elective medical procedure, which Beshear has banned during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to help preserve personal protective equipment and slow the spread of the disease. Defining which medical procedures are elective has largely been left to the medical community to decide on a case-by-case basis.
The legislation expands Cameron’s power to take civil or criminal action against any abortion facility and gives him the authority to seek injunctive relief for violations of emergency orders issued by the governor banning elective medical procedures, “including but not limited to abortions.”
The bill also makes it a Class D felony for a provider not to try the save the life of an infant when it is “born alive” after a botched abortion.
Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said he knows someone who cannot get a biopsy now for cancer of the prostate but abortions still can be performed.
Cameron has said he wants the Beshear administration to end abortion procedures in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has called on acting Cabinet for Health and Family Services Eric Friedlander to certify that Kentucky’s abortion providers are violating the governor’s emergency ban on elective medical procedures by continuing to perform abortions.
Beshear, a Democrat who supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade to let a woman choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, has said he will leave the question of keeping abortion clinics open to health professionals.
There was no immediate comment Thursday from Beshear’s office whether he will veto the new legislation. He has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to consider it. If he does, lawmakers would not have an opportunity to override his veto since the law-making session has ended.
Westerfield said he was “confident” the governor would veto it.
Should Beshear veto the bill, Republicans would not only be able to criticize the governor for choosing to keep abortion clinics open during the pandemic, they would also be able to criticize him for vetoing a bill that sponsors said would prevent infanticide.
When House Minority Floor Leader Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, asked two of the bills sponsors in the House — Rep. Walker Thomas, R-Hopkinsville, and Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton — whether they had any examples of Kentucky doctors performing infanticide, Petrie cited a comment made by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam on a radio show in 2019.
The comment, where Northam described what would happen in the case of a third-trimester abortion (which are illegal in Kentucky), infuriated anti-abortion activists and spurred legislation similar to SB 9 across the country.
The ACLU of Kentucky and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky are urging Beshear to veto what they called “disastrous” legislation.
They said in a news release that the legislation is “a blatant power grab that undermines health care experts and sets the stage for anti-abortion politicians and their allies to work in tandem to make it harder for Kentuckians to access reproductive health care, including safe, legal abortion. “
Cameron “has made it clear he would single out abortion providers, and even punish them with criminal and civil penalties,” said the two groups.
They noted that the measure would transfer to Cameron regulatory powers now held by health experts at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
The two groups also took lawmakers to task for “advancing anti-abortion legislation during a global pandemic. This is not a time to play political games with Kentuckians’ access to time-sensitive health care services. “
The lawmakers combined two abortion bills to produce the final legislation after heated debate Wednesday night.
Sen Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said there is a limited time in which a woman can have an abortion. “There’s a clock ticking,” he said. “So this is not like the tummy tuck. You have to act in a certain time or your time runs out.”
Kentucky law bans abortions after 20 weeks.
Thomas also called the measure “grossly unfair” and said the state should focus on helping born children.
Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, sharply criticized Thomas, saying his colleague was ignoring the unborn.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 9:24 AM.
