Bill seeking to clarify medical exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban delivered to governor

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Kentucky’s abortion ban allows an exception when the life of the mother is at risk, but where does the law draw that line? State lawmakers debated that question at length Thursday before delivering a “clarification” bill to the governor’s desk.

“They are telling us that they are unable to treat women. There’s not a lot of clarity. And so that is what this seeks to do,” Rep. Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill) said on the House floor on Thursday.

“The addition to this bill is false hope,” Rep. Sarah Stalker (D-Louisville) argued later in the same floor debate.

House Bill 90 passed the House with bipartisan support exactly one week ago. It was originally designed to create a legal framework for the operation of freestanding birthing centers in Kentucky. The newly modified bill still does that; however, on Wednesday night, a Senate committee added several new sections aimed at addressing the lone exception to Kentucky’s abortion ban.

“I can’t vote for this legislation because I don’t know if it takes us a step forward or it takes a step back,” Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D-Louisville) said on the Senate floor Thursday morning. “I also can’t vote against it because if there is a chance that it will save the lives of women in our state, I won’t vote against that bill,” she added.

The bill cleared both chambers before noon on Thursday. Supporters said the new language is intended to clarify the law determining when the life of the mother is at risk to end a pregnancy and remove any legal ambiguity around miscarriage management, molar or ectopic pregnancies, sepsis, or hemorrhaging.

“So, one question I’m going to have is, is it more or less restrictive than the current understanding in the medical community?” Gov. Andy Beshear said at Thursday’s Team Kentucky briefing, giving no clear indication on if the bill will earn his signature or a veto.

“This was asked for by the medical community. They came to us to try to figure this out,” Moser said when similar questions were asked on the House floor.

GOP supporters said the bill is just meant to give needed clarity on Kentucky’s abortion law, but the chief concern from Democrats is if the list of conditions is exhaustive enough to cover all situations and if non-medical terms in the bill meet the muster of the law.