The Republican-led Kentucky legislature overcame Democratic Gov. Andy Besiar’s veto Wednesday night and tightened abortion restrictions that proponents say will force the state’s two clinics to stop providing abortions immediately. The new law, one of the most restrictive in the country, imposes limits on medical abortions, requires the incineration or burial of fetal remains and prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. An exception is allowed if the woman’s life is in danger, but there is no exception for rape or incest. The 15-week ban is based on Mississippi law currently pending in the Supreme Court, a case that could be overturned or overturned. Roe vs. Wade, the landmark decision of 1973 that guaranteed the right to abortion at national level. Last December, the majority Conservative Supreme Court ruled it was possible to restrict access to abortions. Beshear had vetoed the bill on Friday, citing the lack of exceptions for rape and incest. “Rape and incest are violent crimes,” he said. “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.” Late Wednesday, the Kentucky House voted 76-21, and the Senate voted 31-6 to overturn the veto. As states across the country rush to pass abortion restrictions ahead of a Supreme Court ruling expected this summer, abortion rights advocates say Kentucky will be the first state to be forced to suspend all proceedings. abortion. The law enters into force immediately. On Thursday, the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Kentucky said it was not performing abortions. In recent weeks, Planned Parenthood patients calling for abortion in Kentucky have been informed that the law was likely to be passed, and many are being referred to abortion clinics in neighboring Indiana, according to Nicole Erwin, Plannedy’s Kentucky’s communications manager. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Kentucky Sen. Stephen Meredith (R) called the abortion “a stain on our country” and “our greatest sin.” “If a mother can kill her own child, what prevents us from killing ourselves and each other?” he said. Democrat lawmakers opposed the bill, urging their Republican counterparts to reconsider. “It takes incredible audacity to assume that you know you can make that decision for every woman and female child in this state,” said Sen. Karen Berg (D). “I ask my colleagues to think about what they are doing.” Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed lawsuits challenging the law as soon as the legislature voted to overturn the governor’s veto. Abortion rights groups say the law is unconstitutional Roe. The list of restrictions presents too many barriers for clinics to continue providing care in the short term, said Alecia Fields, an abortion provider at Planned Parenthood in Louisville. Among the most difficult restrictions on compliance is the new rule for fetal waste, he said. The law requires abortion clinics to work with funeral homes to bury or cremate the remains of any miscarriage. To comply with that law, Fields said, the clinic will likely have to hire more people who can help facilitate a complicated and medically unnecessary burial process for each abortion performed. “You also need to find funeral homes that are willing to work with Planned Parenthood in Kentucky,” Fields said. Any funeral home that agrees to help will inevitably open up to reactions from the community, he added. Even if the treatments are unsuccessful and the law allows, Fields said she is confident that clinics in Kentucky will be able to find a way to continue providing abortions. “I think maybe I hate to say that because I do not want to [Republican lawmakers] to believe that they can do more to restrict access, but I think there is ultimately a way to take care of all these restrictions. “ “She’s just not sure how long it will take,” Fields said.
