By Tessa Redmond
Kentucky Today
A pro-life bill that would allow abortion to be prosecuted as a homicide – and allow criminal charges to be leveraged against women who have abortions – has drawn criticism from both abortion supporters and pro-life groups. But advocates descended on the Capitol Friday to rally support.
House Bill 300 states that “unless specifically provided otherwise, in a prosecution under this chapter where the victim is an unborn child, enforcement shall be subject to the same legal principles as would apply to the homicide of a person who had been born alive, including presumptions, defenses, justifications, laws of parties, immunities, and clemencies.”
However, “spontaneous miscarriages” would not be subject to prosecution and the bill would not apply to “lawful medical procedures” that accidentally result in the death of an unborn child, are performed to prevent the death of a pregnant woman or are performed when all other options available to “save the life of the unborn child” are unavailable or unsuccessful.
HB 300 would also add personhood language to the Kentucky Revised Statutes that ensures unborn children from fertilization until live birth are identified as “human” or a “person.”
Rep. Emily Callaway is the sponsor of HB 300, which would allow abortion to be prosecuted as a homicide. (Photo by Tessa Redmond/Kentucky Today)
Though the bill has faced bipartisan backlash since being filed Tuesday, a “Rally for Equal Protection” drew advocates to the Capitol on Friday. Several pastors and abolition strategists from Kentucky, Oklahoma and Indiana admonished rally attendees and state legislators to love God and love their pre-born neighbors, to protect life and to rise up for the sake of the unborn.
“Life needs to be protected,” said Jerry Dorris, pastor of Reformation Church in Shelbyville. “Laws of equal protection are not evil; they restrain evil.”
Dorris also said that equal protection laws, like HB 300, do not criminalize women but encourage them to value the life growing in their womb. “Such laws protect the weakest and most vulnerable,” he said.
Russell Wesley, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Pikeville, highlighted Romans 12:9: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
“Christian, are you loving hypocritically?” Russell asked the crowd. “It is the purest form of hypocrisy for a Christian, for a human being, for an image-bearer of God to say that ‘I deserve protection, but those in the womb do not’…and the Lord says we should not love (our pre-born neighbors) hypocritically.”
Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Anderson, who is not a member of the bicameral Pro-Life Caucus, said the bill is important.
“We all talk about incremental change. Once you get the first change, it’s not time to park; it’s time to go to the next increment.”
HB 300’s sponsor made an appearance at the rally, thanking attendees for their support.
State Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Bullitt, said her bill doesn’t seek to criminalize women. “We’re criminalizing an act.”
“I’m fighting for my constituents, who are the pre-born. I’m fighting for them,” Callaway said. “I’m fighting for the women who are being exploited, lied to and coerced while they’re under duress, while they’re most vulnerable. That’s who I’m fighting for.”
Heather Gatnarek, an attorney for ACLU of Kentucky, told the Courier-Journal on Tuesday that HB 300 is “absurd and offensive and dangerous … It’s just so far afield from what we know Kentuckians want and what they need.”
Kentucky Right to Life Association, which endorsed the bill’s sponsor Emily Callaway in her 2022 campaign, publicly opposed the Republican on the matter of HB 300.
“We call upon all Kentucky pro-life legislators to continue to act with compassion towards abortion-minded and vulnerable women. We oppose any legislative and policy initiatives that criminalize women who seek abortions,” said Addia Wuchner, a former state representative and executive director of the pro-life group.
“Furthermore, we respectfully urge members of the Kentucky Assembly to reject HB 300 as written, and any measure of the bill that seeks to criminalize women who have abortions.”
The Wednesday statement added that Kentucky Right to Life would continue investing in initiatives and policies that protect unborn children and provide resources and support for pregnant women.
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, said HB 300 “strikes the wrong balance” and expressed hope the legislature would not pass the bill.
“If adopted by the General Assembly, this bill would allow pregnant mothers who have an abortion to be criminally charged and prosecuted with homicide. While I strongly support prohibiting abortions in Kentucky, I just as strongly support helping pregnant women. Pregnant mothers deserve our help, support, and life-affirming options, not to face criminal charges,” Cameron said. “Unlike House Bill 300, Kentucky’s current law, the Human Life Protection Act, appropriately values the life of a pregnant woman and her unborn child and does not permit the prosecution of pregnant mothers.”
