By Dave Andrusko
Kentucky Speaker of the House Jeff Hoover
The encouraging lead sentence from Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader read “Kentucky could have two new laws that restrict abortions in effect by this weekend.”
Brammer was referencing SB5, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and House Bill 2, the requirement that abortionists make the results of an ultrasound available to abortion-minded women. (HB2 would add to the informed consent law passed in 2016, according to WHAS11.)
The former passed in the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee Wednesday, 11-3. The latter whisked through the House Judiciary Committee by a 14-5 vote, also on Wednesday.
Pro-life Republican leaders hope to get both bills to pro-life Gov. Matt Bevins by week’s end. To do that, Brammer explained,
the legislature would have to hold a rare Saturday meeting. Saturday would mark the fifth day of this year’s law-making session and it takes at least five days for a bill to get through both chambers.
House Speaker Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said Wednesday, the second day of this year’s 30-workday session, that it is likely the legislature will meet Saturday to vote on bills that were approved by committees on Wednesday.
John Cox, a spokesman for the Senate, said no official decision has been made about a possible Saturday meeting. …
Both abortion bills that got out of committee Wednesday contain an emergency clause, which means they would become effective immediately after they are signed by Bevin, who supports restricting abortions.