Beshear allows ‘born alive’ abortion bill to become law without his signature
Gov. Andy Beshear let a bill requiring medical providers to do all that they can to preserve the life of a “born alive infant” become law without his signature Thursday, marking the first abortion-related bill the governor hasn’t vetoed.
“I’m disappointed he didn’t sign it, but I’m grateful he didn’t veto it,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton. “I’ll take what I can get.”
Beshear’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Beshear was endorsed by NARAL, an abortion-rights group, in the 2019 gubernatorial race.
Westerfield has attempted to pass the bill since Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam made comments in 2019 on a podcast that conservative commenters claimed was an endorsement of “late-term abortions.” Northam has said he was referring to abortions where there “may be severe deformities” or a fetus that is non-viable.
The bill requires that a physician performing an abortion “take all medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant.” It also requires that medical providers give a “born-alive infant” any nourishment, medical care, medical treatment and surgical care that is medically appropriate.
Critics of the bill have said it is unnecessary, since medical providers already have an obligation to preserve life and warned that the bill could have unintended consequences if it were to become law.
Beshear vetoed similar legislation last year, when the bill was combined with another anti-abortion rights bill that transferred the power of enforcing abortion laws from the governor to the attorney general and defined abortions as “elective” procedures, which would have shut down abortion clinics during the initial lock-down of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This session, the two bills were passed in separate legislation. Beshear vetoed House Bill 2, the bill that would transfer his office’s powers to the attorney general.
Samuel Crankshaw, a spokesman for the ACLU of Kentucky, said the law will only serve to shame and ostracize patients.
“We are incredibly disappointed Governor Beshear allowed Senate Bill 9 to become law,” Crankshaw said. “It is an inflammatory law that was motivated purely by politics and has no basis in the real-life practice of medicine. Lawmakers heard from a physician and advocates who testified to these facts, yet they still passed the legislation to score cheap political points.”
Crankshaw said he could not comment on whether the ACLU will challenge the law in court.
“Anybody can file a lawsuit for any reason they want,” Westerfield said. “If it’s challenged, I think it will withstand that challenge.”
He also noted that the bill became law on the 48th anniversary of the Roe V. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in every state.
Herald-Leader reporter Jack Brammer contributed to this article.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 10:23 AM.
