Kentucky voters will decide in November whether to amend their state constitution to confirm that aborting an unborn baby is not a “right.”
A new report this week shows Protect Kentucky Access, which is campaigning against the amendment, has out-raised the pro-life side by more than $1 million, the Associated Press reports.
According to campaign finance reports, the pro-abortion group raised $1.5 million so-far this year, while the pro-life Yes For Life campaign raised $350,000.
The Planned Parenthood abortion chain and the ACLU were the biggest donors to the pro-abortion side, and top donors to the pro-life side include Right to Life and Family Foundation, the Kentucky Baptist Convention and the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the Daily Kos reports.
Ballot Amendment 2 would amend the Kentucky Constitution to make it clear that aborting unborn babies is not a right and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions. It states: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
A recent Civiqs poll found 53 percent of Kentucky voters believe abortions should be illegal in most or all cases, compared to 43 percent who believe abortions should be legal in most or all cases.
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Pro-abortion groups are expected to bombard voters with ads and events in opposition to the amendment in the coming months. Protect Kentucky Access also recently hired Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for the pro-abortion Kansas group that helped to defeat a similar amendment in August, according to the Daily Kos.
Even though the pro-abortion side consistently outspends pro-life organizations, the pro-life movement has strong grassroots support.
According to Kentucky Today, pro-life organizations with the Yes for Life Alliance have been holding training events and rallies to educate voters, and they plan to host a big rally in October in Frankfort. They also set up a website, YesforLifeKY.com, with information and resources to help pro-life Kentuckians spread the word.
Pro-life advocates said the amendment will prevent activist judges from striking down state pro-life laws and forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions in Kentucky, as has happened in other states.
For example, in 2018, West Virginia voters passed a pro-life constitutional amendment after decades of being forced by a court ruling to fund elective abortions with their tax dollars. Tennessee approved a similar amendment in 2014, as did Louisiana in 2020.
Kentucky is one of 16 states that protects unborn babies by banning abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
In August, in a big victory for life, the Kentucky Supreme Court allowed the state to enforce its pro-life law. The ruling means the two abortion facilities, Planned Parenthood and EMW Clinic in Louisville, are not allowed to kill babies while the case moves forward.
