Kentucky’s Beshear slams GOP opponent’s abortion position in ad

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) released an ad Wednesday attacking his Republican opponent in the state’s gubernatorial race, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, for his position on abortion. 

Beshear released the ad showing a woman named Hadley from Owensboro, Ky., sharing her story of being raped by her stepfather and becoming pregnant at 12 years old. The ad denounces the near-total abortion ban Kentucky implemented after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that provides no exceptions for rape or incest. 

“Anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes,” Hadley said. “This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.” 

The law only permits exceptions to protect the life or health of the mother. 

Beshear noted in a tweet that Cameron defended the ban in a case before the state Supreme Court.

“I’m speaking out because women and girls need to have options,” Hadley said. 

Cameron has defended the state’s abortion ban over the past year but signaled a shift in his policies during an interview with a local Louisville radio station on Monday. He said he would sign legislation creating exceptions for rape and incest if the state legislature passed it.  

Cameron slammed Beshear’s ad in a video statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said Beshear is running the “most despicable campaign” in the state’s history. 

Cameron called Beshear an “extremist” on abortion for vetoing a bill that would have required medical care to be provided to a baby born alive after a failed abortion. 

Beshear said at the time that the law was unnecessary because state law already protects newborns from being denied medical care after being born. He later allowed another similar bill to take effect without his signature in 2021. 

“There’s an extremist in this race, and it is Andy Beshear,” Cameron said. 

Beshear’s attack came just after Planned Parenthood Action Kentucky launched an ad campaign targeting Cameron’s support for abortion restrictions. The ads highlight Cameron’s previous support for the state’s abortion ban.

The Kentucky gubernatorial race is one of three governor’s races happening this year along with Louisiana and Mississippi. 

Beshear is running for a second term in office. Several polls have shown Beshear leading Cameron by at least a few points.