by Governor Matt Bevin
FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 11, 2019) – At least now we have clarity on the issue. Now that the hard left has dropped the pretense of “safe, legal and rare” or “a collection of cells is not a fetus,” we can better see beneath their masks. With the passage of a barbaric new law in New York, we now see that the true agenda of pro-abortion advocates across this nation is the mass murder of innocent babies, even after they have been born and are crying for their mothers. That’s a difficult line to read, much less to allow to sink in to one’s consciousness. Tragically…monstrously, it is an accurate reflection of the liberal position in New York and Virginia, and is sadly true for some liberals in Kentucky as well.
I am grateful that the vast majority of my fellow Kentuckians will not stand for this in our Commonwealth. We will not allow the most innocent among us to be treated in this horrific manner. That is why, led by our administration, we have passed some of the most effective pro-life measures in America today. I applaud the General Assembly for the overwhelming bipartisan support of these measures. On average, these bills passed with over 80 percent support of representatives and senators from both parties.
In Kentucky we have laws to:
- Ban abortions after 20 weeks (when babies can feel pain).
- Require an ultrasound before abortion so the mother at least has the option to see her baby.
- Protect babies from being dismembered in the womb.
My legal team has been working tirelessly to defend many of these laws in court. Defending Kentucky law should be the responsibility of the attorney general, who Kentucky voters elected for that purpose. But Andy Beshear not only has refused to defend these laws, and thus defend babies, he recently wrote a letter that can only be described as desperate. In a futile attempt to intimidate our legislators from passing additional protections in this session, Beshear decried proposed bills for 2019 as unconstitutional. Beshear has now made a habit of being to the left of Planned Parenthood on abortion. He previously (and erroneously) wrote that our 20-week abortion ban would be unconstitutional, even though Planned Parenthood has never challenged that law in court.
Speaking of court challenges, the effectiveness of our pro-life laws and of my administration’s legal team was made evident in recent weeks when Planned Parenthood and other hard left, pro-abortion groups announced their intent to pool their ample economic and legal resources to fight against Kentucky babies. Those groups are bringing $90 million into our state, along with additional armies of liberal lawyers to try to tear down Kentucky laws protecting life.
As we ponder the heinous nature of the New York law and the bill that was shamelessly proposed in Virginia, Kentuckians must realize that pro-abortion radicals are even suing for the right to dismember a third trimester baby. They are suing for the right to commit barbaric acts and our attorney general is standing with them…not us. Our administration is even forced to defend a 20-year-old law in court that merely requires an emergency room transfer agreement to ensure the safety of the mother and baby in the event of a botched abortion.
Not long ago, I was mocked by a handful of liberals in the media and entertainment industry when I cautioned about the “culture of death” that now pervades video games, much of our “entertainment” and a startling amount of our music. Can those same critics honestly make light of those cautions in the midst of the grotesque celebrations in New York as they legalized infanticide?
Recently, liberal politicians and entertainers were lauded as courageous during the Women’s March for defending a “woman’s right to choose.” Applauding infanticide and playing word games by calling murder a “choice” as one panders to hard-left supporters is anything but courageous. On the contrary, standing up for life, with the current state of our culture and against the countless millions of lobbying dollars from leftists, is a display of true courage. I am grateful to all those men and women who take that valiant stand every day.
As long as I am Kentucky’s governor, I too will take that courageous stand. As long as the Bevin administration exists, we will fight with all of our intellect, our talent, and our heart to defend the innocent. We will fight for life.