UPDATE: Pro-choice advocates speak against KY anti-abortion bill passed in House

Kentucky lawmakers took a first step Tuesday toward putting more regulations on medication abortions

UPDATE (3/3/22) 

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – An abortion bill known as ‘Humanity of Health Care’ is causing an even bigger divide between pro-choice and pro-life advocates.

The bill aims to put more regulations on medication abortions in the state, with an emphasis on pregnant minors.

“The intent of House Bill 3 is to ensure that while abortions are legal in Kentucky, we want them to be as safe as possible” said Republican Representative, Nancy Tate, HB 3’s lead sponsor.

HB 3 would require a medical visit before an abortion pill could be given. It would also restrict the ability to get an abortion pill through the mail. And, require the creation of a complaint portal…and list physicians who prescribe abortion pills.

It also would tighten parental consent for minors seeking an abortion. Physicians who knowingly perform an abortion without parental consent could face a class ‘D’ felony.

Those requirements among many others are making many pro choice advocates angry and upset.

“People should be allowed to choose, and for so many different reasons, it’s not only a moral choice, there are actually health reasons for abortion” said Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi

Democrats in the house pushed for amendments, including exemptions for minors who got pregnant due to rape or incest…which failed to pass, striking a nerve in pro-choice advocate, Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi.

“Watching the vote play out, I’ll be very honest with you, I bawled my eyes out. It just hurt so much and honestly it was like a re-traumatization, a re-victimization” said Aghaaliandastjerdi.

She is a childhood sexual abuse survivor. From age 6 to 12, she says her stepfather abused her.

She says she’s thankful her body could not produce a child at that time…but says if it had, and House Bill 3 had been passed during that time, it would have been extremely difficult for her to get parental consent.

“It hurts beyond explanation and I don’t want to cry, I don’t think people fully understand and I don’t know why you have to make people full understand what it’s like to go through something like that as a child” she added.

Organizations like ACLU Kentucky condemning the passage of the bill saying

“The house passage of house bill 3 demonstrates abject ignorance of medical science and is a dangerous effort to push important reproductive healthcare out of reach for all Kentuckians”

But, pro-life organizations like the Family Foundation commend Representative Tate saying
“We look forward to seeing this common sense, broadly supported pro-life bill becoming law in our Commonwealth.”

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

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UPDATE (3/2/22) – Kentucky’s House of Representatives voted 77-20 Wednesday to send a bill, that puts more regulations on medication abortions, to the Senate for consideration. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (PPAA) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU-KY) condemned the Kentucky General Assembly for advancing House Bill 3 (HB 3).

HB 3, referred to as the Humanity in Healthcare Act, is sponsored by Representative Nancy Tate of Brandenburg.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented increase in the use of chemical abortions and know that complications can arise from taking a tablet or capsule at home without the appropriate conversations between a doctor and a patient,” said Tate. “Specifically, HB 3 would require that a medical provider examine the patient in person and establish guidelines for what the examination includes. Physicians must also schedule a follow-up appointment and show reasonable efforts were made to provide follow-up care if the patient does not return. Under HB 3, those who do not inform or examine the patient prior to the abortion could be subject to a medical malpractice lawsuit. The measure also calls for the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy to create the Kentucky Abortion-Inducing Drug Certification Program, which would focus on ensuring that physicians who prescribe medication to induce a chemical abortion have proper credentials and a signed contract with another physician who can handle any medical complications that arise.”

According to PPAA, Kentucky is one of 12 states with a trigger law that would ban abortion in most cases if Roe v Wade is overturned, which it calls, “a real threat that could actualize with a U.S. Supreme Court decision coming this summer.”

“We are looking at the last few weeks of abortion access in Kentucky if this bill passes. The state Legislature is out of control. Access to abortion is hanging by a thread across this country and here at home,” said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “Politicians have already put in place a myriad of discriminatory and medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care, like forced ultrasounds, waiting periods, and biased anti-abortion counseling requirements – stigmatizing, shaming, and delaying time-sensitive and essential care. HB 3’s expansive and politically-motivated reporting requirements go so far beyond what is needed to “improve public health” that they actually endanger patients and providers, and will ultimately ban access entirely for anyone in need of an abortion across the commonwealth.”

The Family Foundation applauded Rep. Tate, and the House chamber for the passage of HB 3.

“House Bill 3 protects the health and safety of both the mother and her preborn child,” explained David Walls, Executive Director of The Family Foundation. “We look forward to seeing this commonsense, broadly supported pro-life bill becoming law in our Commonwealth.”

The ACLU of Kentucky disagrees.

“House Bill 3 is designed to push a safe and effective method of abortion care out of reach, shame and ostracize patients, and make the process of seeking and providing abortion care so difficult that patients will forgo care and providers will close their doors,” said Jackie McGranahan, Policy Strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky. “The House passage of House Bill 3 demonstrates abject ignorance of medical science and is a dangerous effort to push important reproductive healthcare out of reach for all Kentuckians, regardless of their circumstances.”

McGranaham says HB 3 is designed to restrict access to safe and effective medication abortion care, adding, “Proponents say these restrictions are to improve safety despite abortion care having lower complication rates than simple procedures like wisdom tooth extractions. HB3 is so extreme it would even make it more difficult for minors who have survived violence or trafficking to seek care. HB3 would also force all people who seek abortion care or have a miscarriage in a healthcare facility to enter their names into the public record, along with the names of their partners (or perpetrators of violence) – a gross violation of patient privacy.” 

According to Rep. Tate, the omnibus measure addresses the issue of parental consent, “The bill states that attempts must be made to contact both parents of minors seeking abortions, whereas existing state law only requires the approval of one legal guardian. The amendment also prevents physicians from delegating the responsibility of acquiring parental consent to another individual. In addition, HB 3 raises the standard to acquire a judicial bypass. The measure establishes if one of the patient’s legal guardians is unable to sign off, the physician can bypass their consent with judicial concurrence. The court must consider the minor’s age, stability, credibility, demeanor, ability to assess responsibility for life-impacting consequences, the reason for needing an abortion, and the possibility of influence and pressure, as well as confirming that the pregnancy is not a result of abuse by the parent or guardian.”

Tate went on to say, “HB 3 also addresses how fetal remains are treated. The bill would require that parents receive notice of their right to take responsibility or relinquish their child’s remains within 24 hours of the procedure. Under Tate’s proposal, babies’ remains cannot be treated as pathological waste, disposed of as medical waste, or sold.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers took a first step Tuesday toward putting more regulations on medication abortions, responding to the increased use of pills rather than surgery to terminate early pregnancies.

A Republican-controlled House committee advanced a far-reaching abortion bill that would ban shipment of such medication by mail. It would require an in-person visit with a doctor, rather than using telehealth, before undergoing a medication abortion.

The measure is part of a nationwide push by anti-abortion groups to limit the ability of physicians to prescribe abortion pills by telemedicine. Elsewhere in the South, the Georgia Senate on Tuesday passed a similar bill. It now moves to the House for more debate.

The Kentucky bill would direct the state pharmacy board to oversee the distribution of abortion pills. The pharmacy board also would oversee a certification process for pharmacies, physicians, manufacturers and distributors who administer or provide the drugs.

During the committee hearing, activists on both sides of the abortion issue spoke at length about the multilayered measure, which heads to the full House next. The bill would still need Senate approval if it clears the House. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers.

The bill would continue aggressive efforts by Kentucky lawmakers to put restrictions and conditions on abortion since the GOP assumed complete control of the legislature after the 2016 election.

“We’re talking about the life of a human being — a baby,” GOP Rep. Bill Wesley said in supporting the newest bill Tuesday. “That’s the discussion today. It’s not a ball of cells. It’s not a blob. It’s a life.”

In opposing the measure, Democratic Rep. Pamela Stevenson said the state has thousands of children either in need of protection from abuse or in need of a permanent home.

“Take care of those kids,” she said. “And let women have the right to their bodies.”

The bill’s supporters said the additional regulations are needed in response to a trend they referred to as “mail-order abortion” and “big abortion pharma.” About half of abortions performed in Kentucky are the result of medication procedures, the House panel was told.

Nationally, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rise in telemedicine and action by the Food and Drug Administration allowing abortion pills to be mailed so patients could skip in-person visits to get them.

The FDA made the change permanent in December, meaning women can get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through the mail. That move led to stepped-up efforts by abortion opponents to seek more restrictions on medication abortions through state legislatures.

Abortion-rights advocate Tamarra Wieder said Tuesday that the Kentucky bill amounted to “government overreach.” It would impose “unprecedented state-level oversight over a drug regimen with a proven safety record,” she told the House panel.

“This bill piles on a long list of abortion restrictions, none of which are based on medical best practice and patient safety,” said Wieder, Kentucky state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.

The measure also would put new restrictions on the process through which a girl can seek permission from a judge for an abortion in cases where getting permission from a parent is not possible or might put the girl in danger.

The bill also would require the pharmacy board to create a complaint portal on its website. It would list the names of doctors certified to prescribe medication to induce abortions and pharmacies, manufacturers and distributors certified to supply it.

Opponents warned about the potential consequences of that provision. For abortion providers, the portal would “open them up to increased harassment and intimidation,” Wieder said.

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The legislation is House Bill 3.