— by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern —
Saying it “threatens the life of pregnant women in Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a bill Republican lawmakers said would clarify the state’s abortion ban; the measure also would pave the way for Kentucky to open freestanding birth centers.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly can override Democrat Beshear’s veto when lawmakers return to Frankfort Thursday and Friday following the veto period.
Kentucky’s abortion ban has exceptions only to prevent death or permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ; medical providers accused of violating the ban can be charged with a felony. Doctors had long said the language is too vague and restrictive, and they did not know when they could legally intervene to save a woman’s life, forcing delays in care. In House Bill 90, lawmakers attempted to provide clarity by itemizing emergencies and categorizing what is an abortion and what isn’t one, based on intent. Doctors said the new language confused them even more than current law.
Beshear’s veto comes after Planned Parenthood, joined by 85 health care providers, urged him to reject the bill. He also wrote in his veto letter that he was urged by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to reject the bill, with the organization “clearly stating that it does not support this bill.”
“Although supporters of House Bill 90 claim it protects pregnant women and clarifies abortion law in Kentucky, it actually does the opposite,” Beshear wrote in his veto message. “House Bill 90 creates an exhaustive list of specific emergency situations in which abortion may be provided to save the life of the mother. The bill is silent on any other emergency situations. No one, including legislators, can possibly create an exhaustive list of emergency situations that may occur in a hospital or medical facility. Gaps in the law are literally a matter of life and death.”
In his veto letter, Beshear also slammed the quick process by which HB 90 got final approval, saying it “lacks transparency and violates the Kentucky constitution.”
The bill originally concerned only freestanding birth centers, but in a surprise move late in the session it was quickly altered to add the abortion language. That version of the bill received final passage the day before lawmakers adjourned for the 10-day veto period.
The bill “uses new definitions that have been advanced by advocates who oppose in vitro fertilization and birth control,” Beshear wrote. “These definitions set a stage for future legislation and litigation that put these important health care options at risk.”
Planned Parenthood’s Kentucky director, Tamarra Wieder, praised the veto and asked the legislature to let it stand.
“HB 90 was never about clarity or compassion. It ignored medical standards, used anti-abortion rhetoric like ‘maternal-fetal separation,’ and would have forced doctors to delay care during medical emergencies,” she said in a statement. “By vetoing this bill, Gov. Beshear put patients over politics and protected Kentuckians from needless suffering.”
The conservative Commonwealth Policy Center, on the other hand, asked the legislature to override Beshear.
“Gov. Beshear’s veto demonstrates a greater commitment to Planned Parenthood than to healthcare providers who’ve asked for clarity in the law,” Richard Nelson, the center’s executive director, said in a statement. “The governor’s choice to keep healthcare policy muddled doesn’t help frontline professionals helping women who are facing life-threatening pregnancies.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 paved the way for Kentucky and other states to enforce bans on abortion, there have been increasing reports from around the country of pregnant women forced to wait until they were in medical crisis before receiving care for miscarriages and other pregnancy complications, including reports of women who have died as care was delayed or refused because providers feared running afoul of abortion bans.
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Written by Sarah Ladd. Cross-posted from the Kentucky Lantern.
