The impact of the law makes Kentucky the first U.S. state without legal access to abortion since the 1973 Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, who introduced the right to terminate a pregnancy before the fetus is viable, say abortion providers. Abortion rights groups have said they will challenge the bill in court. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The law imposes requirements that state clinics say make operation very difficult and costly, including a provision requiring the incineration or burial of fetal remains. Requires the issuance of a combined birth-death or stillbirth certificate for each abortion and prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Kentucky Gov. Andy Besiar, a Democrat, vetoed the bill Friday, but the Republican-majority Senate overwhelmed his veto Wednesday night. In his veto letter, Beshear expressed concern that the bill did not include exceptions to abortions in cases of rape or incest, and said it was “probably unconstitutional” because of the requirements it imposed on providers. “Rape and incest are violent crimes. Victims of these crimes should have choices,” Beshear wrote. The legislature went beyond many of Beshear’s vetoes on Wednesday, including a bill banning trans girls from playing girls’ sports. Two provisions in abortion legislation prevent the state from conducting clinical abortions, according to Planned Parenthood’s Kentucky state director Tamarra Wieder. The first is the requirement for the State Pharmacy Council to certify providers who provide abortion pills. Until abortion providers are certified, they cannot offer medical abortions. The second is the requirement that the fetal remains be cremated or buried, which burdens the clinics with material and technical support and costs that they cannot afford. The bill also bans telegrams for medical abortions, requiring a personal visit to a doctor for patients who want to terminate their pregnancy with a pill. Republican-led states are rapidly passing tougher abortion bans this year, hoping a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling could help the bans withstand legal challenges. On Tuesday, the governor of Oklahoma signed an almost complete abortion ban that is set to take effect in August. The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June on a Republican-backed Mississippi law case that gives the Conservative majority a chance to undermine or even overturn the landmark 1973 Roe ruling against Wade. legalized abortions at national level. During the controversy, conservative judges signaled their willingness to dramatically restrict abortion rights in the United States. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Gabriella Borter. Edited by Aurora Ellis Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
