Is Kentucky the New Kansas?

https://portside.org/2022-09-12/kentucky-new-kansas

Portside Date: September 12, 2022

Author: Deborah Yetter

Date of source: September 10, 2022

Louisville Courier-Journal

In tears, a young woman described how after recently losing a much-wanted pregnancy, her pharmacy hesitated to fill a prescription for a drug her doctor prescribed to ensure the early miscarriage was complete.

"They want you to prove that this isn't for abortion," the pharmacist said, according to the woman who provided only her first name, Meredith, to protect her privacy and also, because she's concerned about possible online attacks.

Dr. Caitlin Thomas, a Louisville obstetrician and gynecologist, said her patients fear what might happen if they become pregnant under Kentucky's stringent new abortion laws. Some refuse a pregnancy test in her office to avoid leaving a record.

"I know patients who are scared to tell me when their last menstrual period was," said Thomas, with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a national doctors' group that supports abortion access.

More:Kentucky's youngest abortion patients were age 9 before ban took effect, data show

And Kate Miller, advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the prospect of state surveillance of pregnant individuals to enforce Kentucky's abortion restrictions "terrifying."

"Who is the best person to make a decision about your pregnancy − you or the state?" Miller asked.

The comments came at a public forum Friday in Louisville seeking to rally support against a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot which, if approved by voters, would eliminate the right to abortion in Kentucky's Constitution. The event was hosted by state Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, Protect Kentucky Access, a group formed to fight the amendment, and the National Council of Jewish Women's Louisville chapter.

The proposed amendment, approved last year by the Republican-controlled Kentucky General Assembly consists of one line: "To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion." To take effect, a majority of voters must approve it.

And a major battle over the amendment is shaping up, with both sides calling it hugely important in deciding the future of abortion −which currently is banned by state law after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that for 49 years made abortion a federal right.

"We need to show up on Nov. 8 to vote this down," Kulkarni said, adding that if the amendment passes, it will cut off legal challenges to restrictive state abortion laws.

But a group called Yes for Life, whose members include Kentucky Right to Life, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky and the Kentucky Baptist Convention, say they plan to fight just as hard to ensure the amendment is passed in order to derail a pending legal challenge to Kentucky abortion laws and block future challenges.

The goal is "to make sure you do not have radical judges making law from the bench," said Addia Wuchner, executive director of Right to Life and chair of the Yes for Life campaign.

More:Author of Kentucky's abortion ban is making a partisan bid for Supreme Court seat

On June 30, Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry temporarily blocked Kentucky's ban on abortion that took effect after Roe v. Wade was struck down but it was reinstated by a Court of Appeals judge while the legal challenge is pending.

But the surprise rejection of a similar amendment in Kansas last month has given opponents hope.

"I feel very confident we are going to win in November," said Tamarra Wieder, state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, one of the speakers at the forum.

Wuchner said the amendment itself does not ban abortion and her group's goal is to inform the public about what it actually does, which is to eliminate abortion as a state constitutional right.

"There’s a lot of misinformation out there on what the constitutional amendment means," she said. "We are making sure people are equipped with the truth."

But speakers at Friday's forum said the amendment would have far-reaching consequences and would cut off options for legal challenges to multiple laws restricting or banning abortion the legislature has enacted since 2017 after Republicans consolidated their hold on the House and Senate.

State Rep. Nima Kulkarni moderated a discussion on Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2 during a forum held at Story Louisville on Friday, September 9, 2022

Wieder said Planned Parenthood fears the laws will discourage more doctors from coming to Kentucky, a state with no OB-GYNs in 73 of 120 counties and higher-than-average rates of maternal and infant mortality.

Meanwhile health providers and patients are confused and scared about running afoul of the multiple penalties and restrictions of the laws that have begun to take effect since Roe v. Wade was struck down, Wieder said.

"We have been hearing so many of these stories at Planned Parenthood," she said.

Meredith said her pharmacy was reluctant to fill her prescription for Misoprostol, a drug to treat women who've experienced a miscarriage because, when used in combination with a second drug, Mifepristone, it can be used to terminate a pregnancy. Commonly referred to as a medication abortion, the procedure is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.

And House Bill 3, the "omnibus" abortion bill the legislature enacted this year, heavily regulates such drugs and imposes potential fines and other penalties on pharmacists and physicians who violate the law.

When the pharmacist questioned her need for the drug, Meredith said she "burst into tears" and replied "I don't know how to prove I'm having a miscarriage."

The pharmacy eventally agreed to fill the prescription, Meredith said.

But the ordeal was upsetting and worried her that more women will encounter such obstacles to care, she said.

"To be questioned at that most vulnerable time in my life," Meredith said. "It was just a unique kind of cruelty that no person should have to experience."

Meredith said the complex laws "create a culture of fear," adding "It's fear for people who are pregnant, who may want to become pregnant or who accidentally become pregnant."

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com or find her on Twitter at @d_yetter.