Written by Joe Sonka of the Courier-Journal
The Kentucky House passed a bill Tuesday seeking to amend the state constitution to specifically state that women do not have a legal right to an abortion.
House Bill 67 passed by a 71-21 vote and now heads to the Senate. If approved by three-fifths of that chamber, the proposed constitutional amendment would be approved or rejected by voters in a state referendum this fall.
Several Democratic legislators spoke against the bill, reading aloud the testimony that several HB 67 opponents were prepared to give in committee in February before they were cut off by the chairman after only seven minutes.
Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, while holding her newborn infant, spoke against HB 67 and said women with nonviable pregnancies must maintain their right to have an abortion, which the constitutional amendment would take away.
Asked about the lack of exceptions in the abortion amendment to protect the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest, Fischer said the legislature could create statutory rules for those situations, as this only takes the issue out of the courts.
Rep. Terri Branham Clark, D-Catlettsburg, who called herself a “pro-life Democrat,” said it was “irresponsible” to not include any specific exceptions in the amendment. Noting that her daughter is pregnant, she added that she could not vote for legislation that “could endanger her life as a pregnant woman.”
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Courier-Journal.)
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