In the wake of Roe v. Wade’s stunning reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court, national, state and local legislators spent Friday unearthing long-held opinions about the 50-year stanchion for abortion and the rights of women.
Responsible for the most recent Supreme Justice nominee confirmations, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the ruling “courageous and correct,” and an “historic victory for the Constitution and for the most vulnerable in our society.”
McConnell went on to state that for the last 50 years, states have been “unable to enact even modest protections for unborn children,” and that more than 90% of Europe restricts abortion on-demand after 15 weeks.
McConnell said: “Now, the American people get their voice back.”
Governor Andy Beshear, the state’s former attorney general, turned to his previous station as a reason why he didn’t support the court’s opinion.
He noted Friday’s decision triggers an “extremist Kentucky law” that creates a total ban of abortion in Kentucky, that will eliminate “all options” — including victims of rape and/or incest.
As former chief prosecutor of the Commonwealth, he confirmed that these violent crimes happen, “and not having options for victims of rape and incest is wrong.”
Current Attorney General Daniel Cameron called Friday a “day that many have hoped for,” with the issue of abortion being returned to the people and the states “where it belongs.”
Though a cause for celebration in his eyes, Cameron also called for renewed commitment to life-affirming care for the unborn, for mothers and for Kentucky families.
District 3 State Senator Whitney Westerfield issued a similar statement via social media, pointing out that “now that abortion is stopped in Kentucky, and even if it wasn’t, we should substantially step up help for moms and families — especially those without means to provide prenatal and postpartum care.”
Westerfield also stated that adoption should be “exceedingly easy and cheap,” and that child allowances would be “helpful.”
District 9 Representative Myron Dossett said the “wonder and amazement” of children should bring value to “innocent, little” lives.
Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge argued that for years, Republican politicians have “pushed cruel, extreme restrictions on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, with no exceptions even for victims of rapes and incest.”
He further noted that this conversation doesn’t end with abortion, and that “as a black man, as the father of a woman, as the brother of a gay man,” he fears for Kentucky and the nation’s future because this “dangerous ruling” lays the groundwork to dismantle “our basic rights across the board.”
