Kentucky’s abortion history as seen through the lens of Herald-Leader photographers
By Staff
Anti-abortion protestors at Main and Midland in Lexington on Jan. 22, 1986, on the 13th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. President Ronald Reagan wanted to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
John C. Wyatt
Lexington Herald-Leader
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How KY groups are fighting to ensure abortion access
An eight-day freeze on abortion in late April served as a teaser for the post-Roe reality that’s expected to come any day in Kentucky. As the country waits for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, here’s how organizations in the commonwealth are preparing.
Kentucky, like many states, has had a complicated relationship with abortion access over the years.
The Lexington Herald-Leader has documented much of that strife once abortion was legalized in 1973 with the passage of Roe v. Wade,which enshrined constitutional protections for the procedure up until a fetus is viable outside the womb and barred states from banning the procedure out right. But most states have limited access over the years, including Kentucky.
In the late 1970s, the commonwealth had 17 abortion clinics. Today it has two, and both are in Louisville.
While the shuttering of abortion clinics happened incrementally over the decades, most of the laws that restrict abortion have been passed in the last decade, since Republicans took control of the General Assembly, propelled in part by former Gov. Matt Bevin. Since 2016, the legislature has passed at least 10 laws narrowing abortion access, some of which, like the 2019 fetal heartbeat law that bans abortion after six weeks, are still tied up in courts.
The broadest threat to access is contingent on a reversal of Roe. In 2019, under Bevin, the state passed a “trigger law” that bans abortion immediately if Roe is overturned, except in severe medical emergencies. Kentucky is one of 13 states with a trigger law already on the books. If Roe falls, more than half of all states are expected to restrict or ban abortion — a move that will affect an estimated 64 million women and girls of reproductive age.
This year, Kentucky Republicans passed House Bill 3, which is also currently blocked in federal court. It bans abortion at 15 weeks, outlaws the mailing of abortion medication, mandates the state to set up an intensive reporting and certification system to monitor all abortions, and raises the bar for teens seeking a court’s permission for an abortion.
Separately, Kentuckians will vote in a statewide referendum this fall on whether to declare, in an amendment to the state’s constitution, that there is no guaranteed right to an abortion. The product of a 2021 bill, residents will vote on whether to add this sentence to the constitution: “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 an abortion.”
To understand how the commonwealth reached this point, here’s a look back at coverage of abortion rights over the years:
Tom Stickler, (with cat) pro-choice advocate in his office in February 1980. At the time of this photo, Stickler had been speaking out for abortion rights for the past 10 years. He helped start a local “Zero Population Growth” chapter and served on the board of directors of the Lexington Planned Parenthood. Lexington Herald-Leader
Dr. Ralph Robinson, 67 years old at the time, in his office in Middlesboro, Kentucky on February 2, 1981. Dr. Robinson had been performing abortions for about 10 years at the time of this photo. Lexington Herald-Leader
Anti-abortion protestors at Main and Midland in Lexington on Jan. 22, 1986, on the 13th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. President Ronald Reagan wanted to overturn Roe vs. Wade. John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader
Kentucky Governor Paul Patton, surrounded by some of his supporters in the legislature, held a press conference at the Fayette County Courthouse in Lexington, Ky., on April 7, 1998, announcing his veto of HB 85, which would create a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions. DAVID STEPHENSON LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
A large crowd filled the rotunda of the Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Jan. 30, 2002 for the anti-abortion rally. ROB CARR Lexington Herald-Leader
Karen Brooking of Louisville raises her hand in the air while listening to one of the many speakers during an anti-abortion rally in the rotunda of the Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Jan. 30, 2002. Behind Brooking is her husband Robert and to the left is Sister Mary Gemma Younger of New Haven. ROB CARR Lexington Herald-Leader
FRANK ANDERSON LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
Pro-choice activists protest the anti-abortion display with their own signs as they walk past people handing out anti-abortion literature and graphic photos of aborted fetuses on display by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform on the University of Kentucky Campus in Lexington, Ky., on April 8, 2002. From left is UK student Krista Elliott, Transy student Kristin Todd, and UK student Joy Carr. The CBR’s Genocide Awareness Project is a display of murals comparing abortion to other forms of historical genocide including the holocaust, and slavery in the United States. DAVID STEPHENSON LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
Joy Weisbach of Corydon, Ind., shares her testimony about having an abortion years ago. She said she would have reconsidered if she would have seen the ultrasound images of her unborn child. Weisbach participated in a demonstration with others from “Silent No More,” an abortion awareness organization, on the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. Jonathan Palmer Lexington Herald-Leader
Nurse manager Kay Frost, right, and executive director Cindy McDaniel, left background, are shown with sonogram equipment at the AA Pregnancy Help Center on Jan. 26, 2006 in Lexington, Ky. The sonogram can show a fetus’ development inside the womb of the client. The center encourages women not to have abortions. DAVID PERRY LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
Nurse Kay Frost holds a plastic model of what a 12-week old fetus looks like at the AA Pregnancy Help Center on Jan. 26, 2006 in Lexington, Ky. The center encourages women not to have abortions. DAVID PERRY LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
Irma Rosenstein, 89, left, who has been involved with the local Planned Parenthood organization since 1957, and state Planned Parenthood director Shirley Jones, right, whose office is in Louisville, looked at Rosenstein’s scrapbook on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011 at Bluegrass Health Center, local home of Planned Parenthood, in Lexington, Ky. Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass turns 75 this year. A lot has happened since prominent women fought to allow reproductive freedom in Fayette County. David Perry Lexington Herald-Leader
April 5, 1962 clipping from the Lexington Leader showing Irma Rosenstein, left, who at that time was president of the local Planned Parenthood, and “Mrs. Samuel B. Walton Sr.,” right, who was the first local president in 1936. Photographed on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011 at Bluegrass Health Center, local home of Planned Parenthood, in Lexington, Ky. The clipping was in Rosenstein’s scrapbook. David Perry Lexington Herald-Leader
A blank billboard, photographed on Thursday, May 31, 2012 on New Circle Rd. near the Leestown Rd. exit, in Lexington, Ky., is the site of a stolen billboard message. Lexington police are investigating the disappearance of a controversial billboard message that denounced homosexuality and abortion. The billboard on New Circle Road first appeared last week and cited Bible passages beneath the statements “Homosexuality is an abomination” and “Abortion is murder.” The billboard, which listed a phone number for Bluegrass Church of Christ in Scott County, was missing Thursday morning. Police contacted the church, and took a theft report. David Perry Lexington Herald-Leader
Sign across the street from the EMW Women’s Clinic, 161 Burt Rd. in Lexington, Ky., Thursday, March 3, 2016. The administration of Gov. Matt Bevin claims in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Fayette Circuit Court that says Eubanks & Marshall of Lexington, PSC, doing business as EMW Women’s Clinic, is operating an unlicensed abortion clinic at 161 Burt Road, off Nicholasville Road. Charles Bertram Lexington Herald-Leader
Pam Newman testified against a law requiring doctors to present ultrasounds to women seeking abortions during a House Judiciary Committee meeting at the Capitol Annex building in Frankfort, Ky., on Jan. 4, 2017. Newman had to watch a pro-life video and ultrasound before having an abortion in Pennsylvania under a law similar to one under consideration by the committee. Pablo Alcala Lexington Herald-Leader
A woman signed a petition supporting abortion rights May 25, 2019, during the Convergence for Reproductive Rights, sponsored by Kentucky NOW, at Courthouse Plaza in Lexington. Matt Goins Lexington Herald-Leader
Opponents of two anti-abortion bills in the Kentucky House Judiciary Committee, dressed as characters from the Handmaid’s Tale, prepare to take a photo at the Kentucky state Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com
Protesters cheer and gather outside the courthouse during the Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights protest in downtown Lexington, Ky., Saturday, May 14, 2022. Silas Walker swalker@herald-leader.com
Protesters cheer and gather outside the courthouse during the Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights protest in downtown Lexington, Ky., Saturday, May 14, 2022. Silas Walker swalker@herald-leader.com
State Rep. Randy Bridges, R-Paducah, gives a thumbs down as protesters chant “Bans off our bodies” at the Kentucky state Capitol on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Protesters chanted “Bans off our bodies” as they anticipated Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a sweepingly restrictive abortion bill, HB3, would be overridden. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
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How KY groups are fighting to ensure abortion access
An eight-day freeze on abortion in late April served as a teaser for the post-Roe reality that’s expected to come any day in Kentucky. As the country waits for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, here’s how organizations in the commonwealth are preparing.
