Lawmaker files three bills to restore abortion rights in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WAVE) – A lawmaker in Kentucky is filing several bills to restore abortion rights in Kentucky.

In 2019, a trigger ban on abortion was put in place. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, it took effect, creating what is essentially an all-out ban with a few exceptions.

Representative Lindsey Burke of Lexington, a Democrat, has filed now three different bills relating to pregnancy. The first two specifically target anti-abortion laws.

“[The trigger ban] has consequences that may have been unintentional,” said Burke, “especially for those that want to be parents but have had tragically complicated pregnancies.”

Burke said through her own struggles of becoming a parent, losing multiple pregnancies, she’s seen firsthand the lack of reproductive care for women in Kentucky.

Even the exceptions were not enough to get care in-state when one of her unborn twins threatened the life of the other.

“You’re going to have to travel hundreds of miles to another state to find a doctor capable of assisting you in saving the life of your other child,” she explained.

Burke’s North Star Bill (House Bill 428) would restore abortion rights in Kentucky to the way they were 2015, which is when Republicans gained control of both the legislature and the governor’s mansion.

Albeit unlikely, she’ll have to win over some of those same Republicans, who now have a supermajority in the general assembly.

A second bill she filed (House Bill 429) would protect private information of parents seeking out-of-state care.

A third bill (House Bill 430) doesn’t target abortion. It would add resources for post partum depression and anxiety to the already existing Health Access Nurturing Development Services, or HANDS.

“You don’t even have to print a pamphlet. You just have to say, by the way, did you know it’s really common for moms to experience anxiety when they never have?” said Burke. “This is about as easy as it gets.”

Burke said she has not yet had conversations with her Republican colleagues about potential support for the bills.

A similar bill was filed by Burke last year, but it failed to gain traction.

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