The Kentucky House passed a bill to ensure that unborn babies are protected in their state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
The 1973 case crippled states’ ability to protect unborn babies, but many have renewed hope that the infamous abortion ruling will be overturned someday. When that happens, abortions will not immediately become illegal. Instead, states will have to take action to protect unborn babies once again.
In anticipation of that day, the Kentucky House recently passed state House Bill 148 in a 69-20 vote, The Sentinel Echo reports.
The bill, which now moves to the state Senate, would make it a felony to perform an abortion in any case except when the mother’s life is at risk. State Reps. Joe Fischer and Nancy Tate are the lead sponsors.
“HB 148 (will) provide full legal protection to every unborn child in Kentucky from the moment of fertilization to childbirth only if the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade or the Constitution is amended to restore authority to any state to prohibit abortion,” Fischer said.
Here’s more from the local news:
HB 148 would not allow prosecution for an unintentional abortion that occurs in the course of medical treatment of the mother, and would not allow prosecution of a woman who has agreed to abortion, said Fischer. And it would allow prescribing of the so-called “morning after pill” for emergency contraception since, Fischer said, that medication would be taken “before there is knowledge of any pregnancy.” …
Rep. Tate advocated for the bill by telling her colleagues of her childhood when her parents struggled to raise a growing family on as little as $230 per month. “Challenges,” she said, should not be seen as “hardships.”
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“I look at (challenges) as opportunities to grow as a person, to aspire to greatness, and to use our God-given talent–and my God-given talent–as a woman,” said Tate.
The sponsors expressed strong hope that the bill will become law in Kentucky.
However, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU already are attacking the bill with claims that it will put women at risk.
While some states like New York are passing radical pro-abortion laws, others like Kentucky are working hard to protect the unborn. Kentucky lawmakers also are considering a bill to prohibit abortions after an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable this winter.
Meanwhile, last week, Arkansas also passed a law to ban abortions when Roe v. Wade is overturned. The Hill reports Arkansas is the fifth state to pass such a law. The others are Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota. Tennessee is considering a similar bill this winter.
The Supreme Court took away the states’ ability to protect unborn babies from abortion under Roe, and instead allowed abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. Roe made the United States one of only seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks, a fact confirmed by the Washington Post fact checker.
Legal scholars give different estimates about the number of states that would prohibit abortions once Roe is overturned. Several have laws similar to the one that Arkansas passed this month, while others still have pre-Roe abortion bans that would take effect again when the infamous ruling is overturned.
In 2017, the abortion advocacy group NARAL predicted that 13 states immediately would ban abortions if the high court overturns Roe. Last year, the Center for Reproductive Rights put their estimate at 22 states.
More than 60 million unborn babies have been aborted since 1973 in America.
