Current:Home > Contact-usDemocrats walk out of Kentucky hearing on legislation dealing with support for nonviable pregnancies-LoTradeCoin
Democrats walk out of Kentucky hearing on legislation dealing with support for nonviable pregnancies
View Date:2024-12-23 19:37:26
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers walked out of a Kentucky committee hearing Thursday when the GOP-led panel took up a bill to expand access to prebirth and newborn services for pregnant women carrying nonviable fetuses that are expected to die before or soon after birth, in a state that bans abortion in such cases.
The three Democrats didn’t return to the committee room until after Republicans on the House Health Services Committee approved the bill dealing with perinatal palliative care.
“This is not about comforting bereaved parents, as it should be,” Democratic state Rep. Lindsey Burke said afterward. “It’s about making a political statement, and they’re not going to do that on my back.”
Supporters of the bill said it would increase access to compassionate, comprehensive care and support services for families dealing with the devastation of a life-limiting diagnosis for their unborn child. When an infant is expected to live only a short time after birth, it gives parents precious moments to spend time with the child, said Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life.
“No matter how extreme an anomaly can be, sometimes just to say hello by holding your child means everything,” she said. “And families should have that opportunity to make those choices.”
“You can’t say goodbye until you’ve said hello,” she added.
Wuchner, a former state lawmaker and prominent abortion opponent, sat next to the bill’s sponsor as the two presented the legislation to the House panel.
Abortion-rights supporters said afterward that the bill’s intent is to present just one option to parents with a nonviable pregnancy: to carry it to term. They said palliative care should include the option of abortion, which can only be obtained in other states that allow the procedure for nonviable fetuses.
“This is coercive,” said Tamarra Wieder, the Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “It’s stigmatizing. And it’s at a time when parents are most vulnerable.”
Opponents see the bill as an attempt to grant personhood status to the unborn in Kentucky, a state that has banned all abortions except to save the woman’s life or to prevent a disabling injury.
The debate comes against the backdrop of a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are legally protected children, which spotlighted the anti-abortion movement’s longstanding goal of giving embryos and fetuses legal and constitutional protections on par with those of the people carrying them.
After clearing the committee, the Kentucky bill heads to the full House next and would still need Senate approval. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers.
The bill would require hospitals offering obstetric services to either provide perinatal palliative care programs and support services or refer patients to existing palliative programs. It also would apply to alternative birthing centers and would require health benefit plans to cover palliative care.
Palliative services would include coordinated care from a team including medical professionals, specific information about the medical diagnosis, and guidance and support before, during and after birth.
“I think this is a very compassionate piece of legislation,” said Republican state Rep. Nancy Tate, the bill’s lead sponsor and a staunch abortion opponent. “It gives us the opportunity to support women and their families –- physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and financially.”
Two health care systems in the state now provide such palliative care, supporters said.
Opponents said that while carrying nonviable pregnancies to term may be the option some choose, it’s not best for others.
“This bill simply provides the same solutions that are already available, while shaming parents who make difficult decisions,” Burke said.
When the three Democratic lawmakers stood up and quietly walked out as the committee prepared to review the measure, it appeared to catch their Republican colleagues by surprise.
“We were simply talking about providing supports for families who have a really devastating diagnosis that they’re dealing with,” Republican state Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, the committee chair, said afterward. “And this is really just a way to provide support to them. So I was a little confused about why they would walk out.”
___
The legislation is House Bill 467.
veryGood! (2495)
Related
- 'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
- Trump is projected to win South Carolina Republican primary, beat Haley. Here are the full results.
- Jodie Turner-Smith Breaks Silence on Joshua Jackson Divorce
- Decade's old missing person case solved after relative uploads DNA to genealogy site
- Target will be closed on Thanksgiving: Here’s when stores open on Black Friday
- Light rail train hits a car in Phoenix, killing a woman and critically injuring another
- Bow Down to Anne Hathaway's Princess Diaries-Inspired Look at the 2024 SAG Awards
- Kings beat Clippers 123-107 behind Fox and hand LA back-to-back losses for 1st time since December
- Rōki Sasaki is coming to MLB: Dodgers the favorite to sign Japanese ace for cheap?
- Men's March Madness bubble winners and losers: Wake Forest picks up major tournament boost
Ranking
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- This Modern Family Reunion at the 2024 SAG Awards Will Fill Your Heart
- Iowa vs. Illinois highlights: Caitlin Clark notches triple-double, draws closer to scoring record
- Florida bird rescuers shocked by rare visitors: Puffins
- Pistons' Tim Hardaway Jr. leaves in wheelchair after banging head on court
- 2024 SAG Awards: See All The Couples Taking in the Lights, Cameras and Action Together
- Raise a Glass to Pedro Pascal's Drunken SAG Awards 2024 Speech
- Flint council member known for outbursts and activism in city water crisis dies
Recommendation
-
A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
-
You Can't Miss Emma Stone's Ecstatic Reaction After Losing to Lily Gladstone at the 2024 SAG Awards
-
How Jason Sudeikis Reacted After Losing 2024 SAG Award to Jeremy Allen White
-
What you didn't see on TV during the SAG Awards, from Barbra Streisand to Pedro Pascal
-
J.Crew Outlet Quietly Drops Their Black Friday Deals - Save Up to 70% off Everything, Styles Start at $12
-
What you didn't see on TV during the SAG Awards, from Barbra Streisand to Pedro Pascal
-
Army doctor charged with sexual misconduct makes first court appearance
-
Electric school buses finally make headway, but hurdles still stand