By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Those of us who oppose abortion on religious or other grounds are kidding ourselves if we think Kentucky’s new anti-abortion law or even the overruling of Roe v. Wade will stop the killing of innocents.
Criminalizing abortion, in my opinion, will only result in it going back to the dark days of back-alley quacks who used crude devices like wire coat hangers and dangerous chemicals to destroy unwanted fetuses, sometimes killing the pregnant women as a result.
To my knowledge, no one has explained why the politicians who enacted Kentucky’s new law refused to allow exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Personally, I can’t imagine anything more barbaric and crueler than forcing a woman to bear a child that was conceived against her will in a violent, criminal act.
The decision to pause enforcement of the new law came from U. S. District Judge Rebecca G. Jennings – an appointee of our previous president. And it was based on a technicality after the only two abortion clinics in Kentucky said they could not comply with requirements of the new statute.
Her decision was widely hailed as a victory for those supporting abortion rights and a loss for the Republican-dominated General Assembly which not only passed the law but then rescued it by overriding Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto.
According to Associated Press reports, the new law bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and requires women to be examined by a doctor before receiving abortion pills.
It also contains new restrictions and reporting requirements that the Kentucky clinics said they couldn’t immediately comply with. Non-compliance can result in stiff fines, felony penalties and revocation of physician and facility licenses.
Perhaps wisely, Judge Jennings did not address the primary issue of whether the new law is constitutional. It closely resembles a law in Mississippi that is before the U. S. Supreme Court and could be addressed in June.
Pro-life and pro-choice supporters have been marching into courtrooms and street demonstrations against each other for more than 50 years and the end is not in sight. I believe the same is true of abortion itself. It has been troubling us humans for centuries and likely will never go away.