Kentucky is located in a region of the country with abortion laws that fall toward the more restrictive end of the spectrum.
The Bluegrass State and most of its neighbors — Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia — all received F grades for their choice-related laws
from the pro-choice group NARAL Pro-Choice America. Illinois received a grade of B, and West Virginia got a B- from the group.
NARAL described Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear as “mixed-choice,” while labeling its legislature as “anti-choice.”
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According to the legal website FindLaw: "Abortion is legal in Kentucky when a medical doctor determines that abortion is necessary in his or her clinical judgment and with the second opinion of a doctor, and the pregnant woman provides informed consent. Abortion is permissible during the first trimester. After viability of the fetus, it’s legal only if necessary to preserve life or health of the woman."
Americans United for Life ranked Kentucky at No. 20 on its 2015 Life List, saying the state “has laid the groundwork for more aggressive efforts to protect women and their unborn children through its informed consent law, parental involvement law, and abortion clinic regulation.”
Neighbors Missouri and Indiana rank among the most-restrictive states on that list, coming in at No. 6 and 7 respectively. Illinois is No. 24; Tennessee is No. 23; Virginia is No. 19; Ohio is No. 16; and West Virginia is No. 34.
AUL pointed out that minors in Kentucky who are not emancipated must have the consent of parents before they can receive an abortion. Abortions in the Bluegrass State must be performed only by licensed physicians. The state adheres to the federal Medicaid rules for abortion funding, which only allow such public monies to be used if a mother's life is at risk or in cases where a pregnancy occurs from incest or rape.
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The state also embraces a Healthcare Freedom of Conscience Law, AUL said. That allows doctors, nurses and other medical personnel who object in writing to refuse to take part in an abortion procedure. The law also covers those students who are studying nursing and medicine.
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