Last week Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed House Bill 3, the omnibus abortion bill that added some last-minute language that would include a 15-week abortion ban. If Roe V. Wade is overturned this summer, it would effectively end abortion in Kentucky.
It will now head to the legislature, and it will likely be overturned during the last two days of the session.
“House Bill 3 contains no exceptions or exclusions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest,” Beshear said in his veto message. “Under House Bill 3, a 12-year-old child that is raped and impregnated by her father would not have the option of a procedure without both the consent of her mother and without also notifying her rapist – her father – at least 48 hours prior to obtaining a procedure or by petitioning a circuit or district court for a hearing.”
Advocates from pro-life organizations weren’t happy with Beshear’s decision to veto the bill, which seeks to affect abortion in these areas, in addition to the 15-week ban:
- Updating current law on parental consent for minors.
- Dignified care for the remains of aborted fetuses.
- Reporting abortion statistics, which creates a statewide registry for abortion doctors
- No taxpayer funding of abortion in Kentucky.
- Stopping the use of mail-at-home abortion drugs
“I am not surprised by his decision to veto HB3- not protecting babies,” said Addia Wuchner, executive director of the Kentucky Right to Life Association, via Twitter. “I am disappointed being the Commonwealth’s former chief law-enforcement officer/ prosecutor, he knows well that abused & exploited women/girls are among the real risks associated with mail-order abortion.”
Pro-choice advocates plan to pack the capitol on Wednesday when the House is expected to override the veto, which they say is “so extreme it would make it impossible for providers to continue offering abortions in the commonwealth. If the Kentucky General Assembly overrides Governor Beshear’s veto, Kentucky will be the first state in the country to completely lose access to abortion care—impacting at least one million people of reproductive age across the commonwealth,” the email from PPAA reads.
“We thank Governor Beshear for supporting the will of Kentuckians by vetoing House Bill 3,” said Jennifer M. Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “With abortion access at a crisis point in the commonwealth and across this country, Gov. Beshear’s commitment to supporting this essential care comes at a time when true leadership is needed most. Because it would effectively ban abortion in the commonwealth, H.B. 3 is the most dangerous package of anti-abortion policies to come out of the Kentucky General Assembly.”