Kentucky is the latest state to attempt to ban abortion after 15 weeks gestation. The Kentucky Senate voted for the ban on Tuesday. Even if Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes the legislation, the Senate’s Republican supermajority could override such a veto.
Arizona just last week passed similar legislation, and several other states have done likewise. A Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson case expected this June might very well uphold 15-week bans.
The Kentucky legislation started out as a bill regulating the dispensing of abortion pills, but the Senate added an amendment containing the 15-week ban. The House concurred with the ban.
Kentucky law currently bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The bill requires that the state Board of Pharmacy certify providers who dispense abortion pills. Anyone seeking a pregnancy termination with abortion pills must do so through an in-person doctor visit. Telehealth visits will not be allowed.
The legislation also mandates that a combination birth-death or stillbirth certificate be issued for each abortion and that the remains of aborted children be cremated or interred.
