'Hadley's Law': Bill calls for rape, incest exceptions to Kentucky abortion ban

FRANKFORT — Hadley Duvall's story was a key piece of Gov. Andy Beshear's reelection campaign. Now, she hopes it propels the Kentucky legislature to take action.

Duvall, who miscarried as a teen years ago after being raped by her stepfather, joined state Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, in the Capitol rotunda Tuesday morning as the legislator announced plans to file a bill that would add several exceptions to the Bluegrass State's near-total ban on abortions.

"It took me a while to find my voice," Duvall said. "But now that I have, I intend to keep using it to speak out for other girls and women who need it."

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, a trigger law that had been previously approved in Kentucky put a ban on abortions in place in the state in all cases outside of instances where the pregnancy puts the mother's life at risk.

But Yates, a Louisville attorney who has prosecuted rape cases, said that rule is "so narrowly written, so ambiguous, it is almost nonexistent." His bill, which is more than 120 pages but not yet available in full, would add exceptions to the law in cases where maternal health was in question, along with "lethal fetal anomalies" (in which death of the infant is likely before or shortly after birth) and cases of rape and incest.

Kentucky's ban on most abortions has been a debated and contested topic since it was instituted in 2022, with voices calling for relief on both sides of the aisle growing louder in recent months.

Voters in the commonwealth rejected a constitutional amendment later that fall that would have removed any protection for abortion rights from the state constitution, with about 53% of the Kenutcky's deep-red electorate voting against it. And Duvall's story drew national attention when she told it over the summer in an ad supporting Beshear's reelection.

Republican candidate Daniel Cameron, then the state's attorney general, was initially unclear on his stance before saying he'd support such legislation if it were passed by the General Assembly, but some others have been more direct. During his campaign to replace Cameron in the attorney general's office, Republican Russell Coleman (who won the race) said he was in favor of additional exceptions and called on the legislature to look into it, though some GOP legislators spoke out in support of the current law.

Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, filed a bill in the 2023 General Assembly that would have added exceptions for rape and incest that fell short of approval.

Yates supports going further than his legislation is written. He voted against the initial abortion ban, and his bill is not a "fix-all."

But the legislation is limited, he said, because "that's what we think may pass" based on conversations he's had with Republicans in Frankfort. While many GOP members have hardline anti-abortion stances, he said he's spoken with others who have said they'd support softening current restrictions.

"Obviously in the hallways we have a lot of conversations, and those relationships are really important in being a successful legislator," he said. "... There's a lot of partisan politics and games that get played in the legislature."

He has support in the governor's office. Beshear spoke at the start of Tuesday's press conference — and was joined by Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, who continues to recover from a recent double mastectomy — to urge lawmakers to take up the bill.

"The bill, called Hadley's Law, will ensure that those that have been harmed and violated in the worst ways have options," Beshear said. "... If this bill is to pass both chambers, I will sign it immediately when it reaches my desk, or whenever Hadley tells me she wants to sign it in whichever ceremony she would like to hold."

Whether it reaches Beshear's desk, though, is a tougher question.

Speaking Tuesday morning with reporters in Frankfort, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the issue of when abortions should be allowed is "really tough," with gray area on both sides.

When women say they should be in charge of choices that affect their own bodies, he said, he understands the argument — "(I'm) not going to say I necessarily agree with it, but there are women who don't agree with women," he added. "It's the toughest issue to deal with because it's so personal to so many people for different reasons and varying perspectives. So it will be one that will continue to shadow the whole session."

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Duvall, meanwhile, framed the legislation as a step that would provide choices to women and girls across Kentucky who need them.

"This bill is about compassion," she said. "I'm here with a message to say that unless you've been in this position, you have no idea what any woman or girl is currently going through. There should be options The legislators shouldn't feel entitled to force victims who have stories like mine to carry a baby of their rapist."

This story may be updated.

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 'Hadley's Law' would add Kentucky abortion ban exceptions