The bill was submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on Thursday and will take effect immediately due to the state of emergency clause.
Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Kentucky ACLU quickly announced plans to challenge the law.
Bill 3 prohibits a doctor from performing, inducing or attempting to perform or induce an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in emergency medical care. Does not include exceptions for cases of rape and incest.
The measure requires that medicines used in medical abortion be provided only by a qualified doctor and prohibits the sending of medicines by post. Under the bill, abortion drugs cannot be given to a patient without their “informed consent” at least 24 hours before, which includes signing a government document confirming that “it may be possible to reverse the effects.” from inducing abortion medicine, if you wish, but this should be done as soon as possible “- a statement that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that” is not based on science “and” does not meet clinical standards. ”
The law also amends the Kentucky Act, which deals with minors who have abortions.
Current laws do not allow such abortions unless the attending physician obtains the “informed written consent” of the minor and the parent or legal guardian, the minor is emancipated, or the court grants the minor’s request for an abortion. The bill now requires a consenting parent or legal guardian to make a “reasonable attempt to notify” any other parent with joint or physical custody at least 48 hours before giving consent.
The governor claims that the bill is too harsh and unconstitutional
Besher vetoed the bill last week, noting there were no “exceptions or exceptions” in the bill on pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
“Rape and incest are violent crimes. “Victims of these crimes must have opportunities, not be further marked by a process that exposes them to more harm than their rapists or treats them as the perpetrators themselves,” Beshear wrote.
He also claims that HB 3 is “probably unconstitutional”, as the US Supreme Court has ruled similar laws in Texas and Louisiana unconstitutional.
“In particular, Bill 3 of the Chamber requires doctors performing non-surgical procedures to maintain hospital privileges in geographical proximity to the place where the procedure is performed. The Supreme Court has ruled the demands unconstitutional because it makes it impossible for women, including a child who has been raped or incest, to receive proceedings in certain areas of the state, the governor said in a veto statement last week.
In an interview with CNN, Republican sponsor Nancy Tate challenged the governor’s arguments in his veto statement, saying her bill has been “re-examined” and that its purpose is to “make sure a minor has been affected by rape or incest in which the judiciary intervenes. “
A majority of both houses in the Kentucky General Assembly was needed to overthrow the governor’s veto. The Kentucky State House voted 76-21 on Wednesday to lift the veto, and later the State Senate voted 31-6.
The ACLU said in a statement after the veto was lifted that it intended to challenge the 15-week abortion ban included in the bill, and said the law also requires registration for medical abortions, although the state does not have such a system.
“The lawsuits will argue that the law would create unnecessary abortion requirements, while making those requirements impossible to enforce given the date of the law’s immediate entry into force, forcing state providers to stop offering abortion care services,” the spokesman said. at ACLU Samuel Crankshaw. “Because the law is impossible to comply with, it is a de facto ban on abortion, violating the federal law of patients caring for abortion under Roe v. Wade. “
Tate told CNN that her bill would not end the state’s ability to have abortions, but Nicole Erwin, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates in Kentucky, which runs a Louisville clinic, said she “will not be able to provide abortion care while there is relief from the court. “
Like other 15-week bans
Kentucky’s new law is similar to the 15-week Mississippi abortion ban currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“When the Supreme Court upheld Mississippi law as constitutional, because I guess I’m pretty sure it will happen, we’ll have a law of life that won’t be the subject of a bona fide legal challenge,” Tate said, citing HB 3.
Kentucky joins a number of other red states that have passed laws or improved legislation that restrict access to abortion this year.
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill last month that also bans abortions in the state after 15 weeks. The bill goes into effect 90 days after the end of the Arizona legislature. And on Thursday, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a similar bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy without exception for rape, incest or human trafficking.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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