Proposed measure would expand category of “abortion services providers” to include commonwealth Health Departments, Community Organizations
The Kentucky Senate’s Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee passed a piece of legislation aimed at restricting the reproductive rights of women in the commonwealth.
SB7, would, among other things, turn county health departments, rape crisis centers, and other entities that provide comprehensive family planning information into “abortion services providers.”
Derek Selznick, American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Project Director, had this comment:
“Providing a medical opinion or information on where to obtain a constitutionally protected medical procedure does not make one an abortion provider any more than giving directions to the airport makes one a pilot. Federal and state statute is clear on which medical professional are and are not providers of services and this bill will not supersede that fact. Should the Kentucky legislature move forward with this ill-thought out and dangerous measure they will not only endanger patient's health outcomes and encourage health care professionals to deny the dissemination of valuable medical advice but also put at risk millions of dollars in federal healthcare funding desperately needed in the Commonwealth."
January 21, 2016 - 7:56pm