The bill also bans the sending of abortion drugs by mail.
April 14, 2022, 2:17 am
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The Kentucky Legislature has lifted Gov. Andy Besher’s veto on a 15-week abortion ban, along with several other restrictions on abortion.
According to the bill, any doctor who has an abortion after 15 weeks will lose his license for at least six months.
The bill allows exceptions if there is emergency medical care where continuing the pregnancy would lead to a “serious risk of significant and irreversible damage to basic bodily function” or “death of the pregnant woman”. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Last week, Democrat, a Democrat, vetoed a Republican-backed measure after voicing concerns over whether the bill was constitutional and criticizing the lack of exceptions for rape or incest.
But on Wednesday, the state House House received well over 51 votes needed to override the veto, and the U.S. Senate far surpassed the 20 votes needed. It entered into force immediately due to its state of emergency clause.
A protester holds a sign in front of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, March 29, 2022.
Also in the bill, known as HB3, there is a restriction that drugs used for medical abortion – a non-surgical procedure commonly used for up to 10 weeks during pregnancy – must be provided by a doctor who is licensed to practice medicine and good situation with Kentucky.
The doctor must also have hospital privileges in “geographical proximity” to the place where the abortion is performed.
A personal examination should be performed at least 24 hours before the medical abortion, during which women are informed of all risks. Medicines cannot be sent by mail.
Proponents of abortion say it will prevent many women, especially low-income women, from having access to an abortion if they have to go to a clinic to get one.
In addition, juveniles seeking an abortion will need the consent of a judge if the parents are not available and all remains of the fetus will have to be buried or cremated by a licensed funeral home provider.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Besher spoke at an event on April 8, 2022, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Opponents say the bill has so many restrictions that it makes it virtually impossible for any abortion clinic to comply, saying the passage would mean that Kentucky residents would effectively lose access to abortion care.
The bill also requires the names of doctors who perform medical abortions to be published and a state “complaint portal” to be set up so that people can anonymously report abortion providers who are allegedly violating the program.
In a previous interview with ABC News, Meg Stern, director of the Kentucky Abortion Support Fund for the Health Justice Network, an advocacy group, said this could lead to complaints from people who have personal revenge against abortion providers.
The ban is modeled after a 15-week Mississippi abortion ban, which is being reviewed by the Supreme Court, and a decision is expected in June on whether it is constitutional or not.
If the court rules that the Mississippi bill is constitutional, it could mean that Rowe v. Wade has either been repealed or fundamentally weakened.
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