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FRANKFORT, Kentucky, April 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear vetoed a proposal Friday that would have both protected infants who survive attempted abortions but also authorized Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to suspend elective abortions during the coronavirus crisis.
Late last month, Cameron requested that state Cabinet for Health and Family Services Acting Secretary Eric Friedlander “certify, pursuant to KRS 15.241, that Kentucky’s abortion providers are violating his ban on elective medical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing to perform abortions,” which would “immediately trigger action by our office to stop elective procedures during the pandemic.”
His power to handle the matter is limited, however, by the fact that Beshear is not pro-life. So the legislature passed legislation authorizing the attorney general to pursue legal action against abortion facilities to “prevent, penalize, and remedy violations” of state regulations, as well as subject any abortonist who neglects a fully-delivered baby after a botched abortion to civil damages and suspension of his or her medical license.
Beshear, who previously said he would defer to health officials as to whether abortions qualify as “elective or essential” under the state’s COVID-19 order, vetoed the bill, CNN reported.
Beshear justified his stance on the grounds that “I'm just not doing divisive issues right now” because “we've got to defeat this coronavirus,” and claimed that “existing Kentucky law already fully protects children from being denied life-saving medical care and treatment when they are born.”
Pro-lifers argue that while existing laws prohibit the direct killing of children, they fail to adequately address the prospect of physicians letting an “unwanted” newborn die via neglect, especially in light of Beshear’s pro-abortion history.
“This governor once again demonstrated his hostility to unborn life,” lamented Republican state Sen. Whitney Westerfield. “If the Lord is willing, I will file this bill on the first day of the 2021 session.”
Pro-life medical professionals have assailed the abortion industry’s demands to be exempt from the same sacrifices currently being made in legitimate medical fields, arguing that exempting elective abortion puts business interests ahead of public health.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) says that while “elective abortion is neither ‘essential’ nor ‘urgent,’” it “does consume critical resources such as masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment, and unnecessarily exposes patients and physicians to pathogens.”
“Elective abortion, both surgical and drug induced, also generates more patients to be seen in already overburdened emergency rooms,” AAPLOG continued. “Most abortion providers instruct women to go to an emergency room if they have any concerning symptoms after the abortion. Approximately five percent of women who undergo medication abortions will require evaluation in an emergency room, most commonly for hemorrhage. Surgical abortions can also result in hemorrhage. Emergency room personnel – who are already struggling to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic – will be further strained to provide care to these women.”