Editor’s note. Among many other provisions, Kentucky’s HB 3 protects unborn babies from abortion after 15 weeks. “The legislation, which resembled a restrictive Mississippi law that is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, folded together half a dozen bills that were introduced by Republicans in the state House and Senate,” The New York Times’ Maria Cramer reported. The Kentucky House passed House Bill 3 on a 74-19 vote. The Senate had earlier voted 29 to 0 to pass the legislation and had amended the bill to include a 15-week ban.
There were other important provisions in HB3 including restrictions on chemical abortion, specifically that women be required to be examined in person by a doctor before ingesting the drugs.
This “will ban at-home, pill-by-mail, do-it-yourself abortions,” said Sen. Ralph Alvarado, a physician, who handled the bill in the Senate.
State action took on even greater urgency when the FDA, under President Biden, permanently eliminated a long-standing requirement that women pick up the medication in person. “HB 3 bans shipment to patients of such medication by mail or other carrier,” Deborah Yetter reported for the Louisville Courier Journal.
And HB3 adds new restrictions on abortions for girls under 18. HB3 also requires that “fetal remains be cremated or interred,” Reuters reported.
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Speaking on behalf of Kentucky Right to Life, our Right to Life Chapters across the Commonwealth, and Prolife Kentuckians, I doubt if anyone is surprised by Governor Andy Beschar’s decision to veto House Bill 3. But I am disappointed. The Governor, having served previously as Kentucky Attorney General and the former chief law-enforcement officer and prosecutor for our Commonwealth, knows well the issues of human trafficking, abuse and exploitation of women and girls, which contribute to the very real risks associated with mail-order abortion.
House Bill 3 addresses multiple issues impacting the health of minor girls and women across the Commonwealth. As a result of the FDA’s decision to stop enforcing their longstanding health guidelines for issuing RU486, a two-pill regimen for non-surgical abortions, the in-person meeting with a medical provider, counseling, and ultrasound have been replaced with do-it-yourself at-home abortions via mail order.
Kentucky women deserve better than risky do-it-yourself, mail-order-abortions!
Without an in-person consultation between a pregnant woman or minor girl and a medical professional, not only is it difficult to assess any serious risk factors such as an ectopic pregnancy, but the door is also left wide open for vulnerable women and girls to be physically forced into an unwanted or quick decision on abortion.
Kentucky Right to Life has led the State for 50 years advocating for an end to abortion and today remains unwavering in its support for the dignity and sanctity of life, especially the unborn. We advocate for prolife justice, justice for the children and their mothers.
A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy deserves the opportunity to learn about her options other than abortion, and deserves for her reproductive health to be respected rather than thrown down to a mail-order solution for such a serious, life-impacting decision, such as terminating the life of her child.
Please call the Legislative Hotline, 1-800-372-7181, and ask your legislators to please override Gov. Beshear’s VETO of HB3.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
