Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Kentucky ACLU quickly announced plans to challenge the law. House Bill 3 prohibits a physician from performing, causing, or attempting to perform or induce an abortion after 15 weeks of gestation, except in an emergency. It does not include exceptions for rape and incest.
The measure requires that drugs used in a medical abortion be provided only by a qualified physician and prohibits dispatch of drugs by mail. According to the bill, abortion drugs can not be given to a patient without obtaining his “informed consent” at least 24 hours in advance, which includes the signing of a government document stating that “it may be possible to reversing the effects of drug-induced abortion if desired, but that this should be done as soon as possible “- a claim that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says is” not science-based “and” does not meet clinical standards ” .
The law also amends Kentucky law that deals with abortion minors. Existing laws do not allow such abortions, unless the treating physician obtains the “informed written consent” of the minor and a parent or legal guardian, the minor is released or the court accepts the minor’s request for an abortion. The bill now makes it a requirement for a consenting parent or legal guardian to make a “reasonable effort” to notify any other parent with joint or physical custody at least 48 hours before giving their consent.

The Governor argued that the bill was too harsh and unconstitutional

Beshear vetoed the bill last week, noting the lack of “exceptions or exclusions” in the bill for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. “Rape and incest are violent crimes. Victims of these crimes should have choices, not be further scarred through a process that exposes them to greater harm than their rapists or treats them as the perpetrators themselves.” wrote Beshear. He also claimed that HB 3 was “probably unconstitutional” after the US Supreme Court ruled that similar legislation in Texas and Louisiana was unconstitutional.
“In particular, House Bill 3 requires non-surgical physicians to maintain hospital privileges geographically close to the site of surgery. The Supreme Court has ruled that such requirements are unconstitutional as it makes it impossible for women, including “of a child who is the victim of rape or incest, to succeed in a process in some parts of the state,” the governor wrote in his veto message last week.
In an interview with CNN, Nancy Tate, the Republican sponsor of the bill, challenged the governor’s arguments in his veto, saying the bill was “heavily controlled” and that his intention was to “confirm whether a minor has been affected by rape or incest involving the judiciary. “ It took a majority of both parts of the Kentucky General Assembly to bypass the governor’s veto. The Kentucky State House voted 76-21 on Wednesday to overturn the veto, and the state Senate later voted 31-6. The ACLU said in a statement after the veto was overturned that it intended to challenge the 15-week abortion ban included in the bill, and argued that the legislation also required registration for the provision of medical abortions, although the state does not have such a system. “The lawsuits will argue that the law would create unnecessary abortion requirements while at the same time making it impossible to comply with these requirements, given the immediate entry into force of the law, forcing state providers to stop offering abortion care services,” the spokesman said. of ACLU, Samuel Crankshaw. “Because the law is impossible to comply with, it amounts to a de facto ban on abortions, violating the federal right of patients to have abortions under Roe v. Wade ». Tate told CNN that her bill would not end the opportunity for women in the state to have abortions, but Nicole Erwin, a spokeswoman for the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates in Kentucky, which has a Louisville clinic, said she “will not be able to provide care for the abortion until there is relief from the Court “.

Similar to other 15-week bans

Kentucky’s new law is similar to the 15-week Mississippi abortion ban currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. “Once the Supreme Court ratifies the Mississippi law as constitutional, because I guess I’m pretty sure it will happen, that we’re going to pass a pro-life law that is not subject to good faith legal challenge,” Tate told HB. 3. Kentucky adds to the number of other red states that have passed laws or advanced legislation restricting access to abortion this year. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill last month that also bans abortions in the state after 15 weeks. The bill goes into effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session in Arizona. And on Thursday, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSadis signed a similar bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy without rape or rape exceptions. . This story has been updated with additional information.