Republican Controlled KY Senate Aborts Pro-Life Bill
Representative Joe Fisher a staunch pro-life advocate in the House filed HB 67 which would create an Amendment to the Kentucky Constitution that precluded abortion from being considered a right. The summary for the bill states the following.
Propose to create a new section of the Constitution of Kentucky to state that Kentucky's Constitution does not secure or protect a right to abortion or funding of abortion.
HB 67 passed the House easily 71-21, which even under Republican control has been the more challenging chamber to get pro-life bills passed in. So when it went to the Senate, many assumed it would be a slam dunk, especially considering the nature of the bill and how the Senate tends to have a better understanding of these complex issues.
Here is the reason THIS bill was so important. Right now there is a legal movement in the abortion community in which they are getting state courts to rule that the right to an abortion is fundamental as it is related to a woman's liberty. Somehow legally when it comes to abortion liberty is more important than life, even though we have the right to Life, Liberty, and Property, they are all on equal footing in our US Constitution. Abortion seems to be the only carve out where the right to liberty trumps the right to life. The reason there is a movement to get the state courts to make these rulings, is it is growing ever more likely with the legal challenges to abortion, that Roe vs. Wade could be overturned in the future. The abortion community cannot have that, so they are getting these state courts to make these rulings so in the event that Roe vs. Wade is overturned the abortion would still be legal in their state.
For an example of the kind of ruling we are talking about see Planned Parenthood vs. Reynolds in the state of Iowa in which the court said the following:
"the constitutional right to an abortion was grounded in the deeply personal nature of the decision. It is part of the host of personal freedoms that emanate from the concept of 'liberty' guaranteed under the Due Process Clause."
Here is what the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution Bill of Rights says:
"No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
We do not understand how the baby's life or liberty is trumped by the mothers life and liberty. Life and liberty are only limited by another's equal life and liberty, not one being allowed to trump the other. You know the phrase, your rights end where mine begins. Where do the rights of the baby begin. Where is the due process for the baby.
So now in Iowa, even if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the right to an abortion is still protected there. Rep Joe Fisher, the supporters of HB 67, and the House were trying to build in protections to our own Kentucky Constitution against this kind of legal trickery. For now that peril is still wide open as that this bill was left to die in the Senate without even a hearing. The last action on this bill was the Senate received in on March 11th, waited 3 legislative days and then on March 17th sent it to the State and Local Government committee where no further action was taken.
Why would a Republican controlled Senate let such a crucial pro-life bill languish like this? We find this all the more ironic though considering the recent Veto of the Born Alive Act SB 9 by Governor Beshear. Yes Beshear is wrong for vetoing that bill, but it was also wrong of the House to not complete action on this bill in a timely enough manner as to rule that veto useless, as they could have passed the Born Alive Act on April 1st, let the Governor Veto it, and then the House and Senate overturn that bill easily with their Super Majority like they did other bills this year.
We here at KLR are tired of the politics around the abortion issue. Yes you got the Governor on record now about being against the Born Alive Act, but you still could have had that, and then overturned his veto. Instead it appears that Republican leadership at least just wants to use the abortion issue as a ca
mpaign tool against him in the next few elections instead of actually doing anything to save the lives of babies in this state. Their valid criticisms of the Governor sadly fall flat given their own inaction and political gamesmanship.
See the the statement at the bottom from Speaker Osborne on the Governor's veto of the Born Alive Act. Gear up folks, political season has just started. We are equally outraged Republicans continue to us the abortion issue to gain votes, instead of just doing something about it, sure on occasion they pop something out, but more often than not they drag it out to their on electoral benefit. We are sure at some point these bills will become law, but at what cost. We guess they saw Andy's keeping the abortion clinics open as an opportunity to make pollical hay out of the abortion issue and let their bills falter for future electoral results in their favor.
The House should have passed the Born Alive Act timely enough to give them the ability to overturn any Governor veto.
The Senate should have passed HB 67, amending the KY Constitution to disallow the right of abortion if Roe vs. Wade was overturned, preventing legal shenanigans by the pro-abortion crowd.
Governor Beshear is wrong to have vetoed the Born Alive Act and kept abortion clinics open during this pandemic while shuttering most other medical procedures not related to COVID-19. How on Earth are abortions essential during a pandemic.
So now we are left with no substantive movement on pro-life issues in this state with a Republican Veto Proof Super Majority.
Which is worse a Democrat that protects abortion "rights" or Republicans that promise to do something but then use it as a mechanism to keep winning elections while pro-life issues are not really advanced. The answer is ultimately they are both equally bad, the net effect is ZERO progress. Its time for some changes in Frankfort.
Contact:
Laura Leigh Goins
Deputy Chief of Staff for Media Relations
House Majority Leadership
(502) 564-4334
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2020
Statement from Speaker Osborne on Governor’s veto of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act
Frankfort, Kentucky (April 24, 2020) - House Speaker David Osborne released the following statement regarding the Governor’s veto of SB 9, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act:
“We are outraged and saddened that Governor Beshear chose to veto a bill aimed at protecting human life. Make no mistake, the Governor had a choice and he used it to defend the indefensible. The Born Alive Act simply requires physicians and other health caregivers provide lifesaving medical care to infants who survive an abortion. This is about protecting a human life outside of the womb. It is a miracle for an infant to survive an abortion and to not render assistance is unthinkable. State and federal laws are insufficient in addressing this and, unfortunately, we learned all too well the cruelty that these infants endure when Virginia Governor Ralph Northam publicly defended, and New York political activists celebrated, the heinous practice.
“This is not the end of this issue. The House Majority Caucus has been called the most pro-life in the history of our Commonwealth, and we will continue to fight for human life.”
