Hope and change in a pivotal year

by Addia Wuchner, KRTL Executive Director

There is a ‘before’ and ‘after’ time period for Kentucky pro-life legislation.

Our original executive director, Margie Montgomery, and Mike Janocik, our hard-working legislative liaison for 25 years, were on a devoted mission to present ideas and to help pass pro-life laws.

Their efforts were rewarded from the late 1970s through 2004. After that a dozen years passed without any progress, because though pro-life bills would be faithfully introduced by pro-life legislators, they never made it out of the House Health & Family Services Committee whose leadership was Democrat.

KRTL persistence paid off when Kentucky became a Republican Trifecta in 2016 following the Bevin win in 2015. Pro-life bills began to sail through both Houses and babies were feeling the joy of all pro-lifers. Perhaps the next five+ years will see LESS need for pro-life legislation.

With the bills passed during the past five years, one would expect a decrease in numbers of abortions in Kentucky but instead we have seen instead an increase. This may reflect the intense legal fights that prevented some laws from taking effect. It could reflect that abortion-pill deaths were not carefully reported prior to the passage of Sen. Robbie Mills’ bill to require abortion pill reporting. It does reflect that a second abortion facility opened in 2020 when Andy Beshear became governor. He ruled that Planned Parenthood could provide abortions though the Transfer Agreement litigation was not settled. In that year we see a sizable increase in numbers of chemical abortions.

As well, the law cannot change hearts, yet it has great influence. Many of our teens, young adults and many who are much older perceive that abortion is OK because, after all, it is the law of the land.

But what if Roe is overturned? Our hope would be that many would be surprised that it was bad law— it should never have become the ruling standard requiring the states to follow its lead.

The human heart and conscience can be damaged when burdened with misleading information that is continually presented in a favorable light. Thus have many in our country become sociopathic in respect to the value of human life.

On the new horizon

Kentucky Right to Life’s mission has always been twofold; for 50 years KRTL has been the face of the ProLife Movement in the Commonwealth. We have worked diligently with legislators to changes laws that protect innocent life and the most vulnerable our midst. At the same time we have been actively engaged as the public witness for life, initiating multifaceted educational programs to teach that the preborn child is not a mass of cells, but an unique individual, small and forming, just beginning the journey we have each made.

Because we understand the critical importance to change hearts, over a year ago we adopted an updated and enhanced mission statement, “Changing Hearts-Saving Lives”!

Kentucky Right to Life is hard at work to develop new programs and events that will help to educate, advocate and convert those with doubts to the side of LIFE. Thank you for your support during this critical moment in history.