Kentucky House Fails to Debate Abortion Bill Giving Women More Info 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 13, 2006
Frankfort, KY (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life lawmakers in Kentucky are upset that the state House failed to take up a measure that would have given women considering an abortion more information about its risks and alternatives. Last night was the final day for measures to come up and those that did not get a vote are dead for the legislative session.
Rep. Tanya Pullin, a Democrat who is the sponsor of the legislation, said the Senate added too many changes to the bill making it took complex. The measure, HB 585, originally started out as just a paragraph long.
Pullin’s version of the bill would have required abortion practitioners to give women the information in person rather than just over a taped message, which the current law allows.
"My purpose in that bill was to be sure that women patients get a chance to talk to a medical professional face to face before they get an abortion," Pullin told the Louisville Courier Journal newspaper.
Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, also a Democrat but who favors abortion, was glad the House killed the measure by not voting on it.
"It just bothers me that there’d be any attempt to curtail women’s rights any more than they already are in the state of Kentucky," she said.
The Senate added a provision requiring women considering an abortion to sign a form saying they received the information the abortion practitioner is required to present. It says the woman "knowingly and willingly" consented to the abortion and was not coerced or pressured or under the presence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
The form must be on filed with the abortion center for a period of 20 years and subject to inspection by state health officials.
The Senate approved SB 125 on a 34-3 margin.
Led by Democratic Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, pro-abortion lawmakers tried to amend Stine’s measure to allow the information to be given during a live telephone call, but senators rejected that idea on a 28-9 vote.
Michael Janocik, assistant director of Kentucky Right to Life, had expected the bill to become law.
Related web sites:
Kentucky Right to Life – https://www.krla.org
Kentucky State Legislature – https://www.lrc.ky.gov
