Lexington legislator looks to repeal abortion ban

Representative Lindsey Burke of Lexington filed legislation to protect 'abortion rights' for women in the Commonwealth.

January 31, 2024

Raime Cohen,

Frankfort, Ky (WTVQ): Representative Lindsey Burke of Lexington filed legislation to protect ‘abortion rights’ for women in the Commonwealth.

Burke is working to repeal the ban on abortions. “We have eliminated access that used to exist and we didn’t have enough to start with, and then we cut it down to nothing,” Burke said.

Burke filed three bills, the first the North Star Bill House Bill 428 that would repeal dozens of laws that’s been passed over the last four years. that have essentially banned abortion here in Kentucky, “And it rolls us back to the access that should have, and have been available in Kentucky in the last decades,” she said.

The second, the shield bill house bill 429 that would provide protection for patients and their medical records when they are forced to seek care out of state. “So, that if the state of Kentucky should do that to any women that saw medical care out of state. They could be sued for violating that women’s civil rights,” Burke said.

The last, the maternal mental health HANDS bill house bill 430. HANDS stands for health access nurturing development services. The program provides families with information about maternal and postpartum depression. “In a state where we have high rates of maternal mortality. We aren’t talking more about post-partum anxiety and post-partum depression,” Burke said.

Planned Parenthood Alliance advocates and several reproductive health allies spoke in support of the legislation. Tamarra Weider is the state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. She says banning abortion care won’t stop people from getting an abortion, it just means it only becomes accessible for those with the means to be able to travel for care.

“Abortion bans make pregnancy less, safe period,” Weider said. “Caring a pregnancy to term is 33 times more riskier for the pregnant person than having an abortion,” Weider said.