Kentucky attorney general: Vote on abortion should have ‘no bearing’ on court’s decision

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) on Wednesday said his state’s rejection of an anti-abortion ballot measure should have “no bearing” on how the Kentucky Supreme Court rules in an upcoming hearing to determine the future of the state’s abortion ban.

Kentucky voters this week rejected a proposition that would have amended the state’s constitution to expressly say that the state does not require the right to an abortion or require abortion funding.

It was one of several measures on abortion that ended with victories for abortion rights proponents.

Fifty-two percent of those voting in Kentucky voted “no” on the proposed constitutional amendment.

The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week over whether the state’s abortion ban violates constitutional rights to privacy, bodily autonomy and self-determination.

If the amendment had passed, it would have essentially left no room for interpretation on whether abortion access was covered under these rights. Cameron and other anti-abortion Republicans have argued that the Kentucky General Assembly should determine abortion laws, not the courts.

Though the results of the ballot signified a victory for pro-abortion activists who campaigned against the measure, abortions in most circumstances are still illegal in Kentucky after two laws went into effect that banned the procedure after six weeks except for in life-threatening cases.

The Kentucky Supreme Court previously denied a request from the ACLU of Kentucky and Planned Parenthood in August to stop the two abortion bans going into effect.

Ballot measures in three other states that enshrined abortion access into their respective constitutions were also passed this week while one in Montana that would have punished doctors who did not attempt to save the lives of infants “born alive” after an attempted abortion was shot down.

On Wednesday, Cameron released a statement responding to the results of the ballot.

“While this result is disappointing, it does not change our belief that there is no right to abortion hidden in the Kentucky Constitution and that the regulation of abortion policy is a matter that belong to our elected representatives in the General Assembly,” said Cameron.

“Today, we filed a motion with the Kentucky Supreme Court to explain why this outcome has no bearing on whether the Court should consider creating a Kentucky version of Roe v. Wade,” Cameron added.