The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, but now people around the country are wondering what exactly that means in their state.
In Kentucky, the first thing to know is that the only abortion clinics left in the state — both in Louisville — have already ceased operations.
But how will the decision impact women’s health in other ways?
LINK nky talked with Tamarra Wieder, the Kentucky State Director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, about some of the aspects of Roe v. Wade does and doesn’t do in Kentucky.
We also talked with Addia Wuchner, the executive director of Kentucky Right to Life about some of the rumors swirling about the decision.
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The responses have been edited for clarity and conciseness.
LINK nky: If you live in a state where you can’t get an abortion (Kentucky), can you go to another one (Ohio) to get one there?
TW: If you live in a state like Kentucky that has now banned abortion, you can leave the state to access an abortion. Now, some of my fears, you know, doing this work, is that we did see in legislatures across the states that there were policies that were put forward that would stop people from crossing state lines. Currently, none of those have passed. So I feel like that is something that will be more of a future issue that we are going to see sweep across states like Kentucky, but at this place in time, you can leave Kentucky and access an abortion.
LINK nky: Now that Roe v. Wade has fallen and the fetal heartbeat law has been triggered in Kentucky, what happens with the pro-life movement and where does it go from here?
AW: The ACLU has already said they’re going to challenge it, so we are prepared. We thought that it would be challenged in Kentucky courts, not the Supreme Court; that day has passed.
On the ballot this November, we have ballot initiative constitution (amendment) number two, and we’re working on that. We are working to make sure that people vote yes for that very simple ballot initiative that basically outlines that there is no right to abortion or the funding thereof in the Kentucky constitution.
LINK nky: What about access to medical abortion (abortion pills)? Is it outlawed in Kentucky in addition to the surgical procedure?
TW: All abortion is outlawed in Kentucky right now, up to six weeks. There is no abortion access in Kentucky right now unless there’s a medical emergency. So right now, unless you have a medical emergency that meets the narrowly defined terms of a medical emergency, then for any other circumstances, you have to leave the state for medication, abortion, or surgery.
AW: There will still be states where abortion is legal, and there will still be the piranha of chemical abortions and mail-order abortion. We will continue to work to ensure to protect Kentucky women and girls, as we look at this risky business of mail order abortions from out of state providers coming into the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
LINK nky: Can Kentuckians use telemedicine to get the pills for medication abortions?
TW: In Kentucky, we already had a long-standing rule on the books that you couldn’t do telemedicine for abortion, and that did mean that you could not access medication abortion via the mail. That’s been a long-standing ban in our Commonwealth since 2018.
LINK nky: Is Plan B (emergency contraception) still legal, and if so, can people still get it over the counter at a pharmacy?
TW: Yes, you can at this time still access Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception. I do want to note, though, that Nancy Tate (R-Brandenburg), a sponsor of House Bill 3, the omnibus anti-abortion bill, did go on record not that long stating that she did want to ban birth control, Plan B, and IUDs at universities, public universities and public institutions who wanted to also be on birth control in the mail, and she also wanted to ban birth control in the mail.
One of the things that I’ve been saying for a long time, and I hope that people will take me seriously now when I talk about how abortion isn’t their end game.
They are coming for birth control.
AW: On any group that supposes to say to women, that they’re there for women, to propose to put out such lies and fear. There was no intention, and not even on any radar screen or thought, to ban contraception. Those were falsehoods perpetuated by the left and the abortion industry. We’ve also heard crazy erroneous things like now they’re going to start monitoring your ovulation. These terrible posts are certainly not true.
LINK nky: In the case of miscarriage, doctors often prescribe abortion medication to help the body with the process. Can they still do that in Kentucky?
TW: At this time, yes. I think what we’re going to see is a chilling effect where you’re going to have doctors and pharmacists who are afraid and not fully aware of where the laws stand. They’re going to be afraid to do this. We’ve seen it in Texas. We’ve seen it across the country, where people are afraid to prescribe medication for IUD insertion or for miscarriages, and we will likely see that happen in Kentucky.