The Kentucky Legislature has a Pro-Life Caucus! View all its members here.

2023 Regular Legislative Session Report

The 2023 Regular Session was not eventful for pro-life legislation. The HB300 bill was opposed by KRTL since we have never supported penalizng vulnerable women. A media release on our position is here. Numerous challenges to bills that were passed in previous years continues. Read more on the KRLA.org blog Forum.

2022 Regular Legislative Session Report

The 2022 Legislative Session ended on a postive note with the passage of the Humanity in Healthcare Act! Governor Beshear vetoed the law but the legislature overrode his veto. We currently await the outcome of legal challenges. Watch for more news soon.

2021 Regular Legislative Session Report

The 2021 Legislative Session saw passage of many pro-life bills that accommodate women experiencing a crisis pregnancy and others affected by her crisis.

HB 2 sponsored by Rep. Joe Fischer, with 50 co-sponsors, allows the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and penalize abortion facilities that are in violation of state law, and prohibits a physician or an abortion facility from deeming an abortion to be an emergency or urgent medical procedure during the COVID-19 time span. Read more.

SB 38 sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams specifies that a smoke evacuation system be used during any surgical procedure, and this includes abortion facilities. See law.

SB 9, the “Born Alive” bill, sponsored by Sen. Whitney Westerfield with 26 co-sponsors, prohibits a person from denying or depriving a born-alive infant of nourishment with the intent to cause or allow the death of the infant. Read more.

HB 155, the “Newborn Safety Device” bill sponsored by Nancy Tate with 26 co-sponsors, defines and allows the use of a safe device for anonymous surrendering of a newborn infant in the Commonwealth at a participating staffed police station, staffed fire station, or a staffed hospital. Read more.

HB 91, the Yes for Life Constitutional Amendment bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Fischer, is a ballot initiative for the 2022 General Election to let Ky voters decide whether or not the Ky Constitution should be amended to state that it does not secure or protect a right to abortion or funding for abortion. Read more.

HR 4, sponsored by Nancy Tate and 37 others, is a Resolution to support the Hyde Amendment and encourage its adoption by the United States Congress in its 2021 session. The amendment bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape, so taxpayers are not required to pay for a procedure they view as ending an innocent human life.

Early this year Ky’s AG Daniel Cameron joined a 19-state coalition filing a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that federal funds are not used to support abortion.

And on the same day that the Yes for Life Rally took place in Frankfort, March 29, he announced that SCOTUS has agreed to hear his Appeal of the case involving Ky’s Dismemberment Abortion law (HB 454-in 2018)!

A look back at 2020

A number of pro-life bills and bills affecting pro-life issues were introduced during the 2020 General Assembly. Read about them on these Forum pages:

• Pro-life bills introduced in 2020 Legislative Session
• Bills in the 2020 Legislative Session that could have affected pro-life issues
• The push for Assisted Suicide came to Kentucky, but the bill died.

Senate Bill 102 was signed into law by Gov. Beshear. It clarified many definitions used in legislation. The term 'abortion' replaced 'induced terminations of pregnancy.' SB102 describes how statistics on abortion deaths are to be reported. Read more here. It was sponsored by three pro-life Republicans: Mills, Alvarado and Embry. SB9 was vetoed. Read more here. SB9 was altered to incorporate HB451. HB67 did not pass successfully for a Senate vote but was mired in committee. As well, many of the pro-life initiatives failed to gain hearings or complete their path to a vote due to the COVID19 pandemic that shortened the days of the Session and required extra work and discussions.

A look back at 2019

Four bills were presented by the Pro-life Caucus members early in the 2019 Legislative Session on Jan. 10 at a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda:

• SB 9 - The “Heartbeat” bill - no abortion after detection of a heartbeat.
• SB 50 - Abortion Pill Reporting Requirements - require a report of dispensing a prescription for RU-486 …or any other drug …intended to end a pregnancy to the Vital Statistics Branch within 15 days after the end of the month.
• HB 5 - No abortion for discriminatory reasons - based on sex, race, color, national origin, or disability.
• HB 148 - Ends abortion - if and when Roe v. Wade is overturned by SCOTUS or states are once again authorized to prohibit abortion.

ALL THESE BILLS were passed during the Legislative Session! A fifth pro-life bill, SB 227, passed the House but did not complete the full cycle to become a law.

Immediately after SB 9 and HB 5 were passed, the EMW Abortion Clinic sued the state of Kentucky. The clinic will be represented by ACLU (NY), the ACLU of Kentucky, Ackerson & Yann, and O’Melveny & Myers in the legal suits. More information about the legal challenge to HB 5 is on the blog. A Courier-Journal article explains how the Heartbeat Bill was immediately blocked. Shortly thereafter HB 5 was blocked by Judge Hale. Read more. Updates are here.

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Along with educating, electing strong pro-life leaders, promoting adoption and medical research that does not rely on killing innocent human life, KRLA pursues an aggressive pro-life legislative effort to pass laws that protect innocent human life. Pro-life laws shield those who cannot speak for themselves and their mothers, and because the law is a teacher. To that end, we strongly support pro-life federal legislation and we at times employ lobbyists to work for pro-life legislation in Kentucky.