The Family Foundation objects to Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of House Bill 90 and says he did it at the request of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.
HB 90 was one of 12 vetoes Beshear entered on Tuesday, bringing the total count to 20. The GOP supermajority legislature can override the vetoes when they return to Frankfort on Thursday and Friday.
HB 90 was one of three bills passed in the last hour on March 14 just before the deadline to pass bills that could have potential vetoes overridden.
Rep. Jason Nemes introduced HB 90 and it provides clarifications regarding what is and is not an abortion under Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act, while affirming Kentucky’s strong pro-life laws that recognize the right to life of unborn children.
The bill’s supporters said it is meant to offer clarity to doctors now fearful of breaking Kentucky law for terminating pregnancies while treating expectant mothers with grave complications.
The legislation would also allow for expanded pro-life perinatal palliative care and legalize freestanding birthing centers in Kentucky.
David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, issued the following statement about the governor’s veto of HB 90.
“Governor Beshear’s shameful veto of HB 90 proves that he is just a mouthpiece for Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry. Rather than protecting the lives of both women and babies, Beshear is apparently only interested in relegalizing abortion-on-demand and promoting harmful misinformation about Kentucky’s pro-life laws. HB 90 is a pro-mom and pro-baby piece of legislation that simply provides clarity to Kentucky’s existing pro-life laws to protect maternal health.
“Gov. Beshear cannot be trusted to protect the lives of mothers or their unborn children. We encourage the General Assembly to once again reject the Governor’s pro-abortion extremism and override his veto of HB 90,” Walls said.
Abortion-rights supporter Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said Beshear “put patients over politics” with his veto.
“HB 90 was never about clarity or compassion,” she said in a statement. “It ignored medical standards, used anti-abortion rhetoric like ‘maternal-fetal separation’ and would have forced doctors to delay care during medical emergencies.”
Beshear is an abortion-rights supporter seen as a potential candidate for the White House in 2028. He followed the advice of abortion-rights supporters who urged him to reject the measure.
By Mark Maynard, Kentucky Today
