FRANKFORT, Ky. — Before he was governor, Andy Beshear was Kentucky’s attorney general, and he said that experience has guided him on his abortion views.
What You Need To Know
- A law banning abortion in Kentucky was temporarily halted by a Jefferson County judge Thursday
- The 2019 “trigger law” went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last week
- Gov. Andy Beshear says the abortion ban is “extremist” for not including an exemption for victims of rape and incest
“I saw young girls in their teens or sometimes earlier that had been violated, sometimes even by family members,” he said. “And if the trigger law goes into or stays in effect, they will have zero options, and that’s wrong.”
When Roe v. Wade was overturned and Kentucky’s so-called trigger law went into effect, he called it “extremist” for not including exceptions for rape and incest victims.
Beshear said he favors the system Kentucky had before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
“We have a general assembly that does not appear that they want to show the compassion to victims out there that deserve options,” Beshear said.
He said the ban could even put in-vitro fertilization in jeopardy.
“I’ve got friends who wouldn’t be here today without that,” Beshear said. “I’ve got friends whose kids, who are friends with my kids, wouldn’t be here without a miracle of science that helps those that may struggle a little bit more having that child that they always dream of.”
The law was put on hold Thursday when a Jefferson County judge issued a restraining order temporarily prohibiting enforcement of the law.
Republicans criticized Beshear’s comments, with Kentucky GOP spokesman Sean Southard pointing out that Beshear’s top advisor, Rocky Adkins, voted with 18 other Democrats for the trigger law in 2019.
“Do (Republicans) believe that it’s not extremist to remove every option for rape and incest victims? Will they look them in the eye and tell them that?” Beshear said. “And this response that it can’t be extremist, look at what this person or that person did, is exactly what kids do when they’re caught doing something wrong. They say, ‘Well, Billy or Tommy did it.’ Right’s right, and wrong’s wrong, no matter who voted what way.”
Axios has reported President Biden plans to meet with governors to discuss abortion on Friday, but Beshear says he has not been informed of any such meeting.