Governor Matt Bevin and the Republican legislature have nothing else better to do than pass more restrictive abortion laws in the hopes that they make it to the SCOTUS and Roe v. Wade is overturned. How is that going so far?
- Once again, Kentucky Republican politicians acted like doctors and banned a procedure called dilation and evacuation that is performed after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Doctor’s who perfomed this procedure would be charged with a felonly. A federal judge struck this down as unconstitutional.
- Four more anti-abortion bills were passed in 2019.
Two already have been temporarily barred by a federal judge because of pending constitutional challenges. One bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, at about six weeks into a pregnancy; the other bans abortion for reasons of the gender, race of disability of the fetus.
- Governor Matt Bevin made another in his series of false claims about abortion. This time he claimed that abortion is the number one cause of death for blacks:
Gov. Matt Bevin said on Fox News this week that abortion kills more black children than any other cause of death, a claim that has been rated as "mostly false" by fact checkers.
"When you consider the fact that over 40% of all the abortions performed in America are the taking of young, black lives, that more black children, more blacks period, are killed by abortion than crime, accidents, cancer, disease, AIDS, every other cause of death combined does not add up to the number of blacks that are killed by abortion," Bevin said during an interview on Tucker Carlson's show.
"And for people to come out and say that it is somehow racial justice to be able to kill black children before they’re even born, is a remarkably empty argument and highly offensive, frankly, to many people like myself."
- As in AL, Kentucky politicians are not hiding the fact they want to overturn Roe v. Wade with their anti-abortion laws.
During the 2019 Kentucky legislative session, some lawmakers exulted that anti-abortion bills they helped pass could put the state first in line to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
"I would be proud if it's Kentucky that takes it up to the Supreme Court and we change Roe v. Wade," said Sen. Damon Thayer, Republican majority leader in the Kentucky Senate.
- Looks pretty damn bleak here in KY, but even the AL anti-abortion law is making some Kentucky Republicans a bit nervous.
"I think it goes extremely too far," said William Woods, of Boone County. "It's absolute lunacy."
Ike Lawrence, of Lexington, also disagrees with the Alabama law.
"It definitely goes too far," he said. "It’ll be struck down. I don’t know why a bunch of middle-aged and old men feel like it's their responsibility to do this to women."
Lawrence said he believes abortion should be a private matter between a woman and her doctor.
Both of those Republicans are running against Matt Bevin the Republican primary.
And why is it that a Republican makes an argument that many have urged Democrats to make — abortion should be a private matter between a woman and her doctor? In other words, get government out of your health care. It won’t get you the votes of single issue anti-abortion voters in KY, but it might help neutralize this culture war issue for Democrats.