Hundreds Gather to Voice Opposition to Legislation
Kentuckians from every corner of the Commonwealth gathered February 23rd in the Capitol Rotunda to show their support of the reproductive freedoms of Kentucky women. Voicing opposition to recent legislation seeking to hinder and limit abortion services, the assembled crowd heard from lawmakers, officials from the ACLU of Kentucky and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky and medical professionals about legislation currently before lawmakers in Frankfort, and the affect it could have on women’s health care in Kentucky.
“I am sick and tired of politicians, governors and presidential candidates trying to stick their noses in personal, private medical decisions,” said State Representative Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville. “We are under attack and we’ve got to fight back!”
Kentucky is currently seeing a stronger than ever push by abortion opponents to pass new and more restrictive laws regarding women’s health care and abortion services. Measures have been advanced and approved aimed at placing barriers between women and care, requiring doctors to perform procedures and give advice that fall outside accepted medical evidence, and requiring women to receive ultrasounds they do not want and which provide no medical benefit.
“As physician, I have a legal, professional and ethical obligation to provide my patients with evidence-based, compassionate care,” said Lexington-based OB-GYN Dr. Sarah Wallet. “However, it is becoming increasingly hard in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for me to provide that care to my patients who desire an abortion.”
Dr. Wallet provided remarks emphasizing her belief that new legislation being advanced by some lawmakers will not only hinder the ability of Kentucky women to receive an abortion, but also diminish her ability to provide care that is in accordance with physician’s training and standards approved by such overseeing organizations as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Such legislation includes:
- Senate Bill 4 – Already signed into law by Governor Matt Bevin, SB 4 mandates a 24 hour waiting period for in-person or live-video feed counseling before a Kentucky woman may obtain an abortion placing a burden on women especially rural and working women who have neither the time nor resources to travel and wait in areas of the state where services are offered.
- Senate Bill 7 – Senate Bill 7 seeks to defund Planned Parenthood in Kentucky. The bill also changes the definition of “abortion services provider” to include any organization that refers, provides information, or counsels a client about abortion services.
- Senate Bill 152 – Despite similar bills having been found unconstitutional by Federal courts, Senate Bill 152 mandates a women undergo an ultrasound before receiving an abortion and listen to a description of the fetus. The bill violates medical ethics by forcing doctors to perform a medically unnecessary procedure, and violates doctors’ First Amendment rights by requiring physicians to give information when it is not medically necessary.
- House Bill 257 – House Bill 257 would ban abortions after 20 weeks as well as ban the most widely used abortion procedures used during the second trimester of pregnancy.
Attendees and advocates were asked to keep pressure on lawmakers to help ensure the reproductive freedom of Kentucky women was not curtailed further.
“The only thing that stands between Kentucky women and further needless restriction on their reproductive freedom is your efforts and your voice,” said Derek Selznick, Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Not only do we need to make sure lawmakers working to reduce and restrict reproductive freedoms understand so many Kentuckians oppose them, but we must also make sure that those lawmakers fighting for Kentucky women know that you have their backs.”
Kim Greene, incoming Board Chair of Planned Parenthood, left the assembled crowd with a call to arms and a message to Kentucky lawmakers.
“Thank you for standing with Planned Parenthood today and every day. Thank you for sending this message loud and clear to Kentucky legislators and the Governor – No! We will not go back!”