House Bill 711 isn't the first abortion exceptions bill to be introduced this session, but it is the first to be filed by a Republican in the GOP-dominated legislature.
The sponsor, Rep. Ken Fleming, has turned down invitations to speak about his bill, preferring to let a press release do the talking. HB 711 says a person who is made pregnant through rape or incest could lawfully obtain an abortion if it’s provided “no later than six weeks” into pregnancy.
While leadership hasn't had much to say about the exception bills so far, even abortion rights advocates have their reservations about their effectiveness. Tamarra Wieder with Planned Parenthood says, even with some exceptions in law, Kentucky has set such strict standards that health providers would remain highly guarded.
"Hospital systems and lawyers are afraid to put their providers at risk," she said. "Providers are afraid. There are felonies that are in place, the loss of licensure."
One Republican-backed abortion exceptions bill was filed in 2023, but failed to gain traction. The new variable this year: a governor's race that saw a Democrat critical of the state's abortion bans win a convincing reelection over an opponent who defended the current bans.
