Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have proposed legislation that would potentially allow the state to prosecute a woman for criminal homicide if they were determined to have received an illegal abortion.
The bill, known as House Bill 300, was filed during the Kentucky legislature's annual session by Republican state representative Emily Callaway. The state currently prohibits abortion except in cases that pose a threat to the mother's life.
Yet under the proposed legislation, anyone involved in an abortion, including the mother, would be subject to criminal charges. Callaway's bill seeks to apply "the same legal principles as would apply to the homicide of a person who had been born alive" to cases involving a fetus. That would mean that the bill would apply to a range of situations, not just those involving abortion.
While the bill makes some exceptions for a "lawful medical procedure" carried out by a licensed physician that is aimed at saving the mother's life, and in cases of "spontaneous miscarriage," the anti-abortion organization, Kentucky Right to Life, has voiced its opposition to the bill.
"We oppose any legislative and policy initiatives that criminalize women who seek abortions," the group's executive director Addia Wuchner said. "Furthermore, we respectfully urge members of the Kentucky (General) Assembly to reject HB 300 as written."
Following the overturning of Roe vs Wade last year, Kentucky law now states that women receiving an illegal abortion cannot be subjected to any criminal conviction or penalty under that particular statute. Legal experts, however, say that theoretically, a prosecutor could try to bring charges against someone who receives an illegal abortion based on other laws.
ACLU of Kentucky's senior staff attorney, Heather Gatnarek, told the Courier-Journal that Callaway's legislation "doesn’t seem to explicitly exempt pregnant people from being prosecuted" and denounced the bill as "absurd, offensive, and dangerous."
Speaker of the House, David Osborne, indicated that new abortion-related legislation, in addition to Callaway's bill, would be expected during the current legislative session. The Kentucky Supreme Court is deliberating on whether to temporarily suspend the trigger law, as well as a ban on abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy until a broader lawsuit challenging the laws' constitutionality is finalized.
"While we await the Kentucky Supreme Court's ruling on the existing law, we continue to have legitimate discussions on future policy," he said. "As a result, we anticipate additional legislation will be filed in the coming days, including bills that will provide further exceptions."
Meanwhile, the state's Attorney General Daniel Cameron also opposed Callaway's bill in a statement Wednesday, arguing the legislation "strikes the wrong balance."
"While I strongly support prohibiting abortions in Kentucky, I just as strongly support helping pregnant women," said Cameron, who is also running for governor in May's Republican primary. "Pregnant mothers deserve our help, support, and life-affirming options, not to face criminal charges."
