'Shield Bill' would protect Kentuckians who get out-of-state abortion

FRANKFORT — Rep. Lindsey Burke has introduced bills to roll back Kentucky's near-total ban on abortions and ensure women who leave the state for abortion services are immune from prosecution.

Burke's personal experience leaving the state to terminate a pregnancy drove her decision to sponsor a "Shield Bill" that would protect Kentucky women from prosecution, the Lexington Democrat said during a Wednesday press conference.

After struggling with infertility for years, Burke got pregnant with twins via in vitro fertilization. However, one of the twins had severe anomalies that made its survival nearly impossible. Burke and her husband were forced to travel out of state for a "selective termination" to save the life of the other twin.

Burke declined to name the state where the termination was performed, adding that telling her story publicly made her nervous about potential prosecution.

The Shield Bill, House Bill 429, would also provide immunity for doctors and groups that help women travel to other states for abortion services and allow a patient to sue the state if Kentucky officials decided to prosecute them for out-of-state services.

Burke said prosecution of Kentucky patients for getting out-of-state abortions is a real possibility. She pointed to former Attorney General Daniel Cameron's decision to sign a letter opposing a proposed federal rule that would block state officials from obtaining information on residents' out-of-state health care.

Another Burke-sponsored bill, House Bill 428, would roll back laws passed since 2015 that limit abortion services in the state, especially the 2019 "trigger law" that banned most abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

Dubbed the North Star bill, the legislation would cement a "fundamental right" to obtain an abortion "prior to the viability of the fetus" in Kentucky law.

Pregnancy is often beset by complexities, Burke said, and women should have the right to make decisions about the services they need and get those services close to home.

"There are many reasons that people need access to reproductive care and the lack of access we have not only to abortion but to simple OB-GYN care in Kentucky is alarming," Burke said.

Maternal mental health

A third Burke bill, HB 430, focuses on maternal mental health. It would add a component focusing on maternal mental health and postpartum depression to the Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) home visiting program for expecting and new parents.

"To me, it seems like a glaring omission that in a state where we have high rates of maternal mortality, we aren't talking more about postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression," Burke said.

Legislative chances

Burke said she has not yet spoken with Republicans in the House to try to garner support from across the aisle for the bills but she plans to soon.

However, with a Republican supermajority in the chamber, it is unlikely the Shield and North Star Bills will get committee hearings or a floor vote.

Many House Republicans oppose abortion and believe Kentucky's current law banning abortions except to save the life of the mother should stand as it is.

"Either you believe that pre-born human life is made in God’s image, or you don’t," Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, said last year on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Expansion of abortion ban exceptions beyond the life of the mother nullifies the premise that all innocent life, including the unborn, is worth protecting," Maddox has also said.

Thousands of Kentuckians support abortion rights, Burke said, and she expects them to rally behind her bills. A ballot measure that would have added a constitutional amendment to eliminate the right to abortion in Kentucky failed in a popular vote in 2022.

"The more these groups get mobilized, the more they speak to their lawmakers, I think we will get to a place where action will be required," Burke said.

A separate bill sponsored by Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, would add rape, incest, maternal health and lethal fetal anomolies to the list of allowable reasons for an abortion in Kentucky. That bill has yet to be assigned to a committee.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky abortion bills would prevent prosecution, restore rights