Top Stories of the Year: Roe v. Wade overturned by Supreme Court

Dec. 22—Blake Vickers

EDITOR'S NOTE: There have been many stories that have come through our newsroom this year which had both local and national significance. With these stories in mind, the Richmond Register has put together our Top 10 stories for 2022. We will be counting down each Top 10 story from now until the end of December. Articles will be featured on the front page of the newspaper.

It was a decision that deepened America's divide.

After nearly 50 years, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 took what had been a constitutional right to an abortion and handed the power to regulate the procedure back to states.

In its 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito argued for the majority that the Constitution does not mention abortion, and a right to one was not "deeply rooted" in the country's history. That led the court to determine individual states have the authority to control access to the procedure.

Within days of the ruling, the nation splintered into a patchwork of new abortion rules and regulations as states moved to ban the procedure or codify it. States like Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio and South Dakota had trigger laws immediately prohibiting abortions following the Supreme Court decision.

Per the Kentucky State Legislature's trigger law, which was signed by former Governor Matt Bevin, access to abortion services are illegal with the narrow exception that permits abortions to prevent the death or permanent injury of a pregnant woman. The law currently does not allow pregnant women to seek abortions in cases of rape or incest.

Anyone who performs an abortion or administers medication to terminate pregnancy in Kentucky is guilty of a class D felony, which is punishable by as many as five years in prison. However, the law does state no criminal penalties are to be imposed on a pregnant individual.

"Today's decision triggers an extremist Kentucky law that creates a total ban in Kentucky that will eliminate all options for victims of rape or incest. As the former chief prosecutor of Kentucky, I know that these violent crimes happen, and not having options for victims of rape and incest is wrong," Governor Andy Beshear said of the law after it went into effect.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron also made a statement on Roe's overturn.

"Today is a day that many have hoped for—the issue of abortion has been returned to the people and to the states, where it belongs," Cameron's statement began. "Our General Assembly has already passed laws that protect unborn babies and ensure the health and safety of women. We've defended many of these pro-life laws in court, but the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Roe and Casey prevented some from taking effect. That changes today... No longer will unelected judges make abortion policy for the Commonwealth."

A day after the reversal of Roe and the passing of Kentucky's trigger law, a women's right's rally was held outside of the Madison County Courthouse.

More than 40 people showed up to speak out against the Supreme Court's decision to end Roe v. Wade. Chris Preece, a Berea teacher who ran for the Democratic nomination for the Kentucky's 6th District seat in the House of Representatives, said he felt compelled to help organize a rally for those wanting to voice their opposition to the Supreme Court's decision.

"We were searching around to see if anyone was organizing something for Madison County and we didn't see anything. We felt like we should organize this and I reached out to the Democratic Party here, which I'm on the executive board of," Preece said. "They were amenable to that, and so I went all in and starting contacting as many people as possible to put this together."

Some gathered said they were worried the decision was a stepping stone to other rights being removed.

"As an eighth generation Kentuckian, my family has lived here for 200 years. My family has lived in this state, in this country, and fought for the right to live. I think it's only right that I stand here today to say 'I will not go silently' because a woman's right to her body is a fundamental right. Not just her body — anyone's right to their body is a fundamental right," Catherine, who did not wish to share her full name, said. "This is the first tumbling stone before they get to the point that they repeal other landmark cases that are fundamental building blocks of many peoples' lives in our state and country. I'm here to say that I do not stand with that. I stand with those that want to live their life free of choice from the government."

Months later, the issue was at the forefront of voter's minds when an amendment concerning abortion rights was on the Kentucky ballot during midterm elections.

Amendment 2 would have amended the Kentucky Constitution to state that it does not provide the right to, or public funding, for abortions. Locally, the amendment was voted down, with 15,327 Madison Countians voting against the measure.

The amendment also failed on a state level, with 52.3% of votes in the state going against it. Despite the amendment's loss, Kentucky's attorney general filed a motion with the state supreme court saying that the outcome of the amendment should have no bearing on the court's decision and that the right to an abortion should be left up to the state legislature.

On Nov. 15, 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court oversaw a case that determined whether the state's abortion ban was unconstitutional.

Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth T. Hughes referred to the defeat of Amendment 2 as "the purest form of democracy."

Matthew Kuhn, Solicitor General and representative of Cameron's office in the case, replied that the amendments failure did not change constitutional language and that there was no evidence that the state constitution protected abortion.

"When it comes to abortion, our constitution here in Kentucky is simply silent," Kuhn said in the hearing.

He echoed Cameron's stance that the procedure is left up to the state legislature.

ACLU attorney Heather Gatnarek argued that the ban has forced women "to remain pregnant against their will," and that the right to privacy has always been guaranteed under the state constitution.