FRANKFORT, Ky. — A young woman who dominated the discussion about abortion during Kentucky’s campaign last year stepped forward again Tuesday to call on lawmakers to relax the state’s near-total abortion ban.
Kentucky
Campaign advocate for abortion rights makes plea for Kentucky lawmakers to relax abortion ban
She teamed with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and the bill’s lead sponsor to try to generate momentum, but its fate ultimately will be decided by Republican supermajorities in the legislature. The prospects for carving out more exceptions appear to be uncertain as GOP lawmakers wrangle with the issue.
Duvall, now a college senior in her early 20s, became pregnant as a seventh grader but ultimately miscarried. Her stepfather was convicted of rape. She recounted those traumatic events in a Beshear campaign ad attacking his Republican challenger’s longstanding support for the abortion ban. The commercial put the GOP candidate, then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron, on the defensive for weeks until the November election, which Beshear won in convincing fashion.
The Associated Press does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Duvall chose to be identified and has spoken out publicly about what she experienced and its connection to the debate over abortion.
Turning her attention to winning over the legislature on Tuesday, Duvall noted that under current Kentucky law she would have had to carry her pregnancy to term.
“There are women and girls across Kentucky right now who are dealing with the same trauma that I went through,” she said. “Those women and girls need their choices. This bill will provide those.”
The debate about loosening Kentucky’s abortion ban comes after Republicans spent years adding restrictions to the procedure. Once the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a state trigger law passed years before took effect. It bans abortions in Kentucky except when carried out to save the life of the mother.
Since this year’s legislative session convened last week, prominent Republicans have talked about how it’s a deeply personal issue for their colleagues. House Speaker David Osborne recently referred to abortion as a “hotly debated issue” with “lots of strong opinions” among GOP members.
Democratic state Sen. David Yates, the lead sponsor of the new exceptions bill, denounced Kentucky’s abortion law as among the nation’s most restrictive. His legislation would provide “a very small step in the right direction for a very limited number of victims that we can help,” he said Tuesday.
Kentucky is one of 14 states currently enforcing a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Two more have similar bans on hold in court. And two others have bans that kick in when cardiac activity can be detected –- at about six weeks gestational age and before women often realize they are pregnant.
Several of the laws were adopted when the U.S. Supreme Court still found a nationwide right to abortion under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and took effect only after that precedent was overturned with the new ruling in 2022.
The laws in states with the deepest restrictions are divided over the exceptions. Most allow abortion when the woman’s life is in immediate danger, though a recent ruling said that Texas does not have to do so. Some have them for pregnancies caused by rape or incest and some do not. A few states allow abortion in the case of rape but not incest. There are also contrasting policies over whether abortions are allowed when there is a fatal fetal anomaly.
In Kentucky, abortion access remained virtually shut off after the state’s Supreme Court refused to halt the ban last year. The justices, however, ruled on narrow legal issues and left unanswered larger constitutional questions about whether access to abortion should be legal. In 2022, Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion.
Last month, a woman in Kentucky sued demanding the right to an abortion. But her attorneys later withdrew the lawsuit after the plaintiff learned her embryo no longer had cardiac activity.
Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter, said Tuesday he would immediately sign the new exceptions bill if it reaches his desk. The rape and incest exceptions would ensure that “those that have been harmed and violated in the worst of ways have options,” the governor said.
In comments echoing her hard-hitting message for Cameron last year, Duvall called on lawmakers to think about the “real world implications” of the current abortion ban.
“I’m here with a clear message to say that unless you’ve been in this position you have no idea what any woman or girl is currently going through,” she said Tuesday. “So 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.”
Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
Two months after video showed him shooting a Kentucky judge at point-blank range in his chambers, former Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines has been indicted for murder.
The indictment, announced jointly by state and local prosecutors, charges Stines with shooting and killing Letcher County District Court Judge Kevin Mullins. Stines is scheduled to appear for his arraignment on Monday, Nov. 25.
RELATED STORY | Video shows Kentucky judge try to hide as he’s gunned down in chambers
At a probable cause hearing in October, prosecutors showed a silent video that appeared to show Stines walking into the judge’s chambers with a weapon and firing multiple times at the victim, who frantically tried to escape under his desk.
Stines, who was sheriff at the time of the shooting, resigned on Oct. 1, hours before appearing in court to plead not guilty to murder charges.
RELATED STORY | Kentucky sheriff charged with fatally shooting a judge pleads not guilty in first court appearance
Investigators have not offered any potential motive for the murder. Those who knew Stines and Mullins said the two had worked together for years and were friends.
To date, prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty.
This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV.
Kentucky played Texas competitively during stretches of Saturday’s game in Austin but an ugly stretch in the second quarter gave the Horns a lead they would never relinquish.
Here are some of the key numbers that tell the story of what happened in the game.
209 … More yards for Texas than Kentucky. That’s not surprising but speaks to the challenge. The Horns had 441 yards of offense with a lot of balance (250 on the ground, 191 through the air) while the Cats mustered only 211 yards of offense, almost all of which was passing.
160 … The total passing yards for Cutter Boley. The freshman was 10/18 for 160 yards and an interception. Boley entered the game because Brock Vandagriff was struggling and he did a lot to impress. He saw the field well, made some confident reads and delivered catchable balls down the field.
158 … Rushing yards for Texas’ Quintrevion Wisner. The Longhorns rushed for 250 yards on the game.
25:30 … Time of possession for Kentucky in the game. Any upset bid would have been aided by Kentucky controlling the ball more than Texas. That did not happen.
20 … Carries for Kentucky running backs Jamarion Wilcox (50 yards) and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (30 yards). Wilcox had a long of 18 while DSK’s long was just six yards. The backs had decent success considering the opponent but Boley was charged with -57 rushing yards.
17 … Second quarter points for the Longhorns. That’s when the game appeared to be decided. First, the Horns went 65 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Then after a Vandagriff pick they scored again quickly before adding a field goal as the half ran out.
11 … Fumbles in the game. It was almost comical how often the ball was bouncing at times. Kentucky fumbled five times but didn’t lose one of them, while Texas fumbled six times and lost two.
10 … Tackles for sophomore Texas linebacker Anthony Hill, who we said coming into the game was playing at an All-American level. He had two sacks and three tackles for loss as the most active, productive Texas defender in the game. He was a problem Kentucky couldn’t account for.
6 … Sacks by the Texas defense. That led to UK only being credited with 21 rushing yards on the game, but more important was the impact on UK’s offensive results. The protection issues have been persistent all season.
2/12 ... Kentucky on third down. That’s not going to get it done in a game like this. That’s a big reason why Texas ran 23 more plays than Kentucky, and had the ball for 10 minutes longer. The big problem was that Kentucky averaged 11.1 yards to go on third down today.
0 … The turnover margin in the game. That gave Kentucky a chance to play somewhat competitively. Both teams had seven points off turnovers with UK’s being Jamon Dumas-Johnson’s return.
AUSTIN — Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers went into the medical tent in the second quarter of Saturday’s home finale against the Kentucky Wildcats after the conclusion of a touchdown drive. Ewers appeared to have his ankle rolled up on earlier in the possession but never went off to the sidelines despite having a small limp.
Fortunately for the Longhorns, he was right back on the field for Texas’ next drive after an acrobatic interception from Jelani McDonald. A few plays later, he connected with Gunnar Helm for his second touchdown catch of the day on a 17-yard score.
Ewers has, of course, been no stranger to injuries during his time at Texas. He’s in his third year with Texas but has missed a total of seven games as a Longhorn due to injury, with at least two absences in each season. This included two missed games this season due to an oblique injury he suffered against UTSA.
Naturally, the conversation of him earning the “injury-prone” label is a real one to have, but head coach Steve Sarkisian sees things differently.
“I don’t necessarily think so,” Sarkisian said. “Sometimes injuries happen because they happen, you know? … I mean, when a guy gets pile-drived on his shoulder, there’s a pretty good chance — it doesn’t matter who you are — your shoulder is probably going to be sore to some capacity. Or when you get pile-drived and your clavicle gets, gets popped. I mean, I don’t know many guys that would have withstood that hit from Dallas Turner a couple years ago. That was an odd hit. And I’ve seen that injury, that same injury Quinn had that year, Jalen Hurts had as well. Oddly enough, he has the oblique strain there a few weeks ago, and I’m watching the game the other night. Derek Carr is out of the game, oblique strain.”
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