FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Republican lawmaker has filed a bill that would keep abortion banned in Kentucky — but with exceptions. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Louisville Rep. Jason Nemes (R) filed a bill to allow abortions, but only under certain conditions

  •  The life of the mother, cases of incest or rape and fetal abnormalities are the exceptions

  •  Abortion rights supporters say voters rejected Amendment 2 and that abortion is health care

The bill would ban abortion with the following exceptions:

  • Life of the patient is at risk
  • If two doctors believe there’s an abnormality incompatible with life outside of the womb
  • If the doctor believes the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, only up to 15 weeks

Three months ago, Kentucky voters rejected Amendment 2, which would have changed the constitution to say outright that there’s no right to an abortion. After the ballot measure failed, Republican Rep. Jason Nemes (R, Louisville), the author of a new exceptions bill filed Wednesday, said voters would have approved the amendment if exceptions for rape and incest were already in the law. 

He said, “So I filed this bill because I think it’s the right thing to do. I think, both on policy and I think that’s what our people want to happen. I think our people are pro-life but they believe in exceptions and so that’s where. That’s the bill I filed, that’s the bill I promised I would file, and that’s what I believe in.” He added, “I had a lot of constituents say ‘I’m pro-life but I can’t vote for the amendment because it doesn’t have this rape and incest exception’ and so my views on that weren’t shaped by that outcome of that at all.” 

But abortion rights supporters who rallied at the Capitol Wednesday say voters rejected Amendment 2 because abortion is health care and isn’t a partisan issue. They say abortion bans have put Kentucky in a “public health crisis.”

Rep. Lindsey Burke (D, Lexington) said, “This bill simply unwinds the heavy-handed and over broad restrictions that have been imposed in recent years. It puts decision making back into the hands of the people who are affected.”

Kentucky’s director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates added, “When it comes to abortion access, the people have been loud and clear. It’s time the Legislature listened. It’s time to repeal the bans. It’s time they help heal the commonwealth.”

Democrats have filed a bill that would legalize abortion.

Last week, the Kentucky Supreme Court released a ruling that keeps Kentucky’s abortion bans in place while a lawsuit in a lower court plays out. But the justices did not rule on whether the constitution protects the right to an abortion.

Nemes told Spectrum News 1 in November that he voted against adding rape and incest exceptions to a different 15-week abortion ban that passed last year because he believes under that legislation, the patient would have adequate time to seek an abortion.

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