Kentucky Legislators Advance Abortion Ban Almost Identical to Bill Passed in 2018
For Immediate Release: March 10, 2022
Senate Bill 321 doesn’t do anything that our state hasn’t already done but continue to waste taxpayer dollars and stigmatize and shame safe, legal abortion access
Frankfort, KY — Today, the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee passed (8-2) Senate Bill 321, a copycat bill imitating Mississippi’s 15-week ban, which is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Like the 15-week ban our state has already enacted, the Mississippi ban still has not been held to be constitutional, and has never gone into effect. The Mississippi law is currently blocked, with both a federal district court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recognizing it is unconstitutional.
SB 321 is a cruel and dangerous ban on abortion beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for survivors of rape and incest. This type of ban is opposed by major medical associations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recognize that these bans put safe and timely abortion care out of reach for patients and put their health and wellbeing at risk.
Statement from Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates:
“Advancing another 15-week ban now, without waiting for the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on Mississippi’s ban this summer or a ruling on our state’s existing 15-week ban, shows SB 321 is nothing more than political theater in an election year,” said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “Everyone watching this horror show should be outraged at the lengths this legislature will go to grab a headline at the expense of constituents’ health. This bill has no basis in science or medicine.
“Senate Bill 321 is an ill-conceived and politically-motivated copycat bill that is being rushed through without fully understanding the legal landscape or consideration for the taxpayer dollars our state could waste defending this unconstitutional bill. People in Kentucky deserve policies that will make them safer and healthier, not constant attacks on their fundamental rights.”
The movement of SB 321, along with House Bill 3, a 60+ page omnibus anti-abortion bill, shows that the Kentucky General Assembly will stop at nothing in order to ban abortion outright. If successful, we could see the elimination of access to safe and legal abortion across Kentucky in a matter of weeks. Abortion is at a crisis point in the commonwealth. If these bad bills are allowed to take effect, the consequences would be dire. They simply go too far in inserting government into our personal, private lives.
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Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Serving AK, HI, ID, IN, KY, WA (PPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization educating residents and policymakers about reproductive health issues in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky and Washington. PPAA lobbies and educates to advance Planned Parenthood's mission, and engages in limited electoral activities.