Statements by seemingly every elected official in Kentucky are pouring into the ForwardKY inbox. Here are a few from KY Dems in office:
Congressman John Yarmuth
“We now know with certainty that three Justices lied under oath to get to the Supreme Court, and that's not the worst part. Adding insult to perjury, they have used their ill-gotten power to strip away women’s constitutional right to bodily autonomy and rob them of personal choice. Let’s be clear: This means people will suffer. It means women will die. This is the path Mitch McConnell chose when he shredded the Constitution to rig the court with ideological zealots unbothered by the struggles of everyday Americans. This is a dark day for America. Every politician who celebrates it must be shown the door this November.”
Kentucky Caucus leaders Joni Jenkins and Morgan McGarvey
“Mark our words: Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion will be seen in the future as our era’s Plessy v. Ferguson. This abhorrent ruling erases nearly 50 years of the court’s own precedents while sending women’s reproductive rights — and risking others like same-sex marriage and rights to contraception — back to the 1700s; it goes against the views of a durable majority of Americans; and, most critically, it needlessly and cruelly threatens the lives of millions of women while telling them they no longer have authority over their own bodies. This is beyond wrong, and we stand with those who will fight with all we have to overturn this travesty as soon as possible.”
Senator Morgan McGarvey
“Today, the Supreme Court rolled back 49 years of precedent and put politicians in control of women’s bodies. With this ruling, abortions in Kentucky are now illegal—even for victims of rape and incest. This is wrong. And now that the guardrails are off, extremists are going to push more and more radical legislation in state houses across the country and in the U.S. Congress. Choice is on the ballot this November. If Republicans are allowed to take back power in Congress, we can be certain they will go even further and push a nationwide abortion ban. I will continue to fight against this extremist agenda that refuses to recognize women’s rights to control their own body. I will be a vote to codify Roe into federal law, because we cannot allow this ruling to mean that access to safe, legal abortion no longer exists.”
Senator Dr. Karen Berg
“Today’s decision is disastrously wrong and devastating for Kentucky women. In an unprecedented move, the Court has taken a guaranteed right away and has now placed politicians firmly in control of our bodies. For Kentuckians, this means women will now need to travel hundreds of miles to get the healthcare they need. As I have said over and over again: if you are anti-abortion, don’t get one. But we don’t get to decide for other human beings what they do with their bodies. This decision will have a profound impact on millions of Americans, and while we are furious today, I will never stop fighting for the rights of people to make their own healthcare decisions.”
(Earlier this year, Dr. Berg went viral for a video clip in which she excoriated the group of all-male Republicans who were jamming an anti-choice bill through the Judiciary Committee.)
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