The defeat of Kentucky’s Amendment 2 “does not mean there is a right to abortion hidden in the Kentucky Constitution and that the regulation of abortion policy is a matter that belongs to our elected representatives”

When Kentucky’s proposed pro-life Amendment 2 narrowly lost Tuesday night, some accounts acted as though that defeat meant there was suddenly a right to abortion. The exact language was “To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

Yesterday, in a tweet Attorney General Daniel Cameron made clear that in his opinion “while this result is disappointing it does not change our belief there is no right to abortion hidden in the Kentucky Constitution and that the regulation of abortion policy is a matter that belongs to our elected representatives in the General assembly.”

On Wednesday Cameron’s office “filed a motion with the Kentucky Supreme Court to explain why this outcome has no bearing on whether the Court should consider creating a Kentucky version of Roe v. Wade. We urge the Court to interpret our Constitution based on its original meaning.”

Current Justices of the Kentucky Supreme Court

Just before the vote, in an op-ed, state Senators Alvarado and Wise explained what the amendment would accomplish:

Voters have an opportunity to affirm unequivocally, that there is no inherent constitutional right to an abortion in the Constitution of Kentucky. …

Constitutional Amendment 2 simply does two things: it says that under the Kentucky Constitution, abortion is not a right and it prevents state funding from being used to perform them. By voting yes on this amendment, you are keeping judges from creating new constitutional rights not explicitly addressed nor even implied in our founding state document.  This amendment will continue to protect the woman’s life if a pregnancy is to be a medical risk to her life.

…

In an op-ed that ran October 25, Cameron wrote:

Shortly before Roe, Kentucky’s highest court considered a constitutional challenge to this statute. The court unanimously rejected the challenge and upheld the law. The court determined that deciding whether and when to prohibit abortion was a matter for the General Assembly and emphasized the court’s “obligation to exercise judicial restraint” regarding the will of the legislature.

For 49 years, our long history of protecting unborn life had been eclipsed by federal judicial activism, but thankfully the shadow of Roe has now lifted.

Read full article.

Read Attorney General Cameron’s Appeal based on case law and Kentucky’s century-long history of protecting unborn human life to the fullest extent possible.

View the briefs submitted to the Court.

Amicus brief of KRTL in support of General Cameron

Watch live coverage of the trial on KET, 10 AM Tuesday November 15.

Ky Supreme Court rules in favor of AG Cameron

The Ky Supreme Court ruled on Saturday, Aug. 21, that the Franklin Circuit Court was wrong to block the bills that the Ky Legislature had passed to limit Gov. Beshear’s powers. The Courier-Journal noted, “The unanimous ruling is mostly a victory for the Republican-dominated Kentucky General Assembly and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who argued the legislation passed earlier this year to limit the governor's power was constitutional and should not have been blocked.”

This means that AG Cameron will have more latitude in pursuing the allowances of HB2 should future mandates be issued. SB1 states that the Governor’s executive orders are limited to 30 days unless extended by the General Assembly. More.

Original post

In Kentucky, new laws do not take effect for 90 days following the Regular Session of the Legislature, unless marked as An Emergency. SB 9, the “Born Alive” bill, took effect immediately. HB 155, the “Newborn Safety Device” bill, became law on June 29th AND the first baby box was installed at Okolona Fire Station #1 located at 8501 Preston Highway in Louisville on July 1st!

HB 91—Yes for Life— has a longer shelf life. It will be on the ballot in 2022, and Kentuckians will vote whether to amend the Ky Constitution with this text: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.” As Sponsor Joe Fischer has said, “There will be no Roe v. Wade decision in Ky. The regulation or elimination of abortion will be vested in the Ky General Assembly, not in the courts.”

HB 2, An Emergency, passed into law already, allowing the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and civil and criminal penalties to prevent, penalize and remedy violation(s) of

• a statute relating to abortion facilities
• certain statutes relating to abortions, and
• emergency management orders relating to elective medical procedures stating that during a state of emergency abortion is deemed to be an emergent or urgent medical procedure.

However, Senate Bills 1 and 2 that limit the Governor’s powers in managing emergencies, were served injunctions by Gov. Beshear right after they passed and now are under litigation in the Ky Supreme Court (along with House Bill 1 and House Joint Resolution 77, also relating to emergency executive orders).

SB 1 and 2 affect HB 2. That is why abortion continued to be viewed as an emergency procedure even after these bills passed both House and Senate, and even though their vetoes were overridden.

The Supreme Court ruling should be issued soon. We expect the Ky Legislature’s amendments to be upheld and will report on this case in a future e-letter. We commend Chad Meredith for a masterful job of arguing this case on behalf of AG Cameron.

As important as the Law IS, when we consider that we are still looking for a response from EMW and Planned Parenthood in regard to the Transfer Agreements LAW that was UPHELD by the Appeals Court LAST NOVEMBER, and a ruling on the 2019 Heartbeat and No-discrimination LAWS from the District Court ever since spring 2020, we realize the great importance of working to change hearts.

Laws can save lives, but the heart is where the action is.