Access to abortion is a “burning issue” in the election for governor of Kentucky.
This is how the Rev. Wayne A. Gnatuk, chair of the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, describes it. But people on both sides have said it’s critical in the race between Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear.
In their Oct. 15 debate at the University of Kentucky, both candidates articulated their stances while answering a question about the state’s role in abortion.
Bevin said he is “unapologetically pro-life” and supports a total ban on abortion, while Beshear said he supports Roe v. Wade with “reasonable restrictions,” particularly on late-term procedures.
Beshear accused Bevin of being an extremist who would leave victims of trauma, such as those who had become pregnant from rape or incest, with no options.
“This is critical enough it’s worth a response,” Bevin replied, defining the issue this way: “No one has the right to decide when an innocent person should die.”
For Bevin, the issue does seem critical. At the Fancy Farm Picnic in August, he criticized his foe for having a fundraiser with doctors from Kentucky’s last remaining abortion clinic, which he has tried to close through state legal action; and his running mate, state Sen. Ralph Avarado, a doctor, called Beshear “Abortion Andy.”
In mid-October, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony List, endorsed Bevin, calling him “the most pro-life governor in America” and Kentucky the most pro-life state.
With Bevin as governor and the state House freshly controlled by Republicans, 10 laws have been enacted to restrict abortion in Kentucky. Many of the laws have been challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union and others.
In 2017, as attorney general, Beshear said he would defend a law that mandated ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, even though he did not necessarily support it, but would not defend another new law, if challenged, that banned abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy because it was “clearly unconstitutional.”
In his campaign, Beshear has focused on other issues, primarily public education. He rarely talks about abortion except when directly asked, such as in a debate setting.
Supporters of each candidate seem to be following their leads: Bevin supporters often cite their anti-abortion stance as the primary determination of who gets their vote, while Beshear supporters tend to mention other policy issues.
For example, at the Oct. 15 debate, Bevin supporter Erika Calihan, who brought signs for the incumbent’s supporters to wave, said “life” is the most important issue for her in this election.
On the other hand, Joan Bishop, a retired teacher who supports Beshear, said public education is the most important issue to her, with health care next on the list.
Bevin has emphasized abortion more than any other Kentucky governor or candidate for the office. Several of his ads and videos on his YouTube page highlight his and Beshear’s stances, including one called “Life,” which asserts that Beshear’s views would move Kentucky backward, and one that quotes the activist’s description of him as the “most pro-life governor.”
In August, when Bevin began emphasizing the issue, Beshear ran a TV ad in which he said his grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s careers as Baptist preachers influence him to help “the lost, the lonely, and the left behind,” including victims of rape and trafficking.
Bevin criticized Beshear for touting his faith while also supporting access to abortion, but Gnatuk, of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said he is tired of the narrative that all Christians oppose abortion.
He said people who support abortion rights and those who say they practice Christianity aren’t mutually exclusive. A national poll in 2014 found that a third of evangelical Protestants thought abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
While the coalition does not take positions in elections, as a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, Gnatuk said people in their movement are “deeply concerned that a group of men, headed by a male governor, would be trying to take away a woman’s right to choose.”
On the other side, the Susan B. Anthony List has mobilized canvassers to knock on doors and urge people to support pro-life Bevin, with a goal of 250,000 doors knocked before Election Day.
Somerset resident Denise Sparks is a Susan B. Anthony member who said she bought her first smartphone so she could use it while canvassing. Sparks said she was 17 and pregnant when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, and she believed then, and still believes, that abortion is murder.
Most of the voters she’s encountered have told her that they are “pro-life,” she said, adding that the canvassing is “stirring up the voters to come and vote.”
ACLU Kentucky’s field organizer for reproductive rights, Jackie McGranahan, said she believes there’s a reason anti-abortion voices are heard less often: the stigma that still surrounds abortion and supporting access to it.
“People who support abortion access are more likely to keep their opinions and ideas to themselves, for fear of stigma,” she said. On the other hand, opponents of abortion rights are “often the loudest in the room.”
Even those who publicly identify as anti-abortion can “privately understand the nuances” of the decision that a pregnant person faces, said ACLU Kentucky Advocacy Director Kate Miller, citing conversations she’s had across the state.
She said some pro-choice people don’t feel safe talking about their stance.
Some 65% of Kentuckians said they would have doubts about a law that bans all abortions, according to a Planned Parenthood poll published by the Courier Journal in August. But the poll also showed a majority opposed to abortion in most cases.
Eighteen percent said all abortions should be illegal, with another 37% saying abortion should be allowed only in “extreme cases.” Forty-three percent said abortion should be legal with some regulations.
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Written by Bailey Vandiver. Cross-posted from the
State Journal via the Kentucky Press News Service.