Advocates push for abortion rights in Ky. 2 years after Dobbs decision
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The court decided the U.S. Constitution does not ensure the right to an abortion, essentially overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade case of 1973.
Two years later, advocates are still fighting to make abortion legal in Kentucky, or, at the very least, create exceptions for incest or rape. As it’s currently legislated, there’s a near total ban in the state.
The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey, and select doctors met in Louisville on Monday to argue about abortion being health care and a human right.
“It is unsustainable,” said OB/GYN Dr. Callyn Samuel. “It makes me question the future we’re creating for these children. I think it’s in direct violation of the Hippocratic oath I took as a medical student.”
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers was also in Louisville for a separate event. He spoke with WAVE News.
”What the Dobbs decision said, in my opinion, was that it is each state that should be the entity that decides what should take place or not take place,” Stivers said.
Kentucky lawmakers crafted the current legislation in 2019, and it was triggered with the Dobbs decision in 2022. Until more things get straightened out in a court of law, Stivers said abortion related laws won’t get much traction.
“You don’t want to be dictated to, or have your legislative abilities co-opted by people running to courts all the time,” he said.
This year, lawmakers proposed Hadley’s Law that would create exceptions for abortion in the case of incest or rape. It did not get a vote.
By: Sean Baute
Source: WAVE News