FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Not long ago, Kentucky Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, was unable to conceive. She took out a loan, started the IVF process, and, at first, everything was working.

But then the pregnancy took a turn.

"Instead of hearing the sound of electrical impulses or heartbeat, we heard silence," she said Wednesday.

They lost the baby but didn't give up. Burke and her husband tried again and celebrated with their families at news they were expecting twins.

But only one of those babies survived. Due to a few birth defects, Burke had to travel to another state to have a selective termination for one of them.

"I experienced anger, grief for my loss, for what could've been ..." she said.

Burke knew she wasn't alone, and that led her to Wednesday, where she announced plans to file three bills:

  • House Bills 428 — The North Star Bill
  • House Bill 429 — The Shield Bill 
  • House Bill 430 — The Maternal Mental Health Hands Bill

The Shield Bill protects providers and private medical information when patients seek an abortion out of state. The other two bills help repeal laws that denied Kentuckians an abortion and provide mental health resources for woman experiencing anxiety and postpartum depression

"We eliminated access that used to exist," Burke said. "We didn't have enough to start with and then we cut it down to nothing."

Abortion Rally

Abortion advocates gathered in Frankfort as Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, filed three bills targeting Kentucky's ban. Jan. 31, 2024. (WDRB Photo)

Last year, Kentucky's Supreme Court refused to halt the state's near-total abortion ban and another outlawing abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. The justices focused on narrow legal issues but did not resolve larger constitutional questions about whether access to abortion should be legal in the state.

Kentucky's near-total trigger law ban and a separate six-week ban were both passed by Republican legislative majorities. The trigger law was passed in 2019 and took effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. It bans abortions except when they are carried out to save the life of the patient or to prevent disabling injury. It does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

"It's not fair that someone should be forced into a horrible situation, make an impossible decision and then have to live with the fear of being criminalized," Burke said Wednesday.

Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have denied any constitutional protections for abortion. Past efforts to add exceptions, including one by Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, have failed. 

David Walls with the Family Foundation said they strongly oppose efforts to re-legalize abortion in Kentucky.

"We need to remember what abortion is: the intentional taking the life of an unborn child," Walls said. "... I'm hopeful and optimistic the General Assembly is going to be looking to move forward instead of some of these proposals by the pro-abortion industry that seeks to move Kentucky backward so they can resume profiting off of taking the lives of unborn children."

Burke said while there may be little appetite for change among the Republican supermajority, she wanted to tell her story to show the many reasons why people need access to reproductive care. Members of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU support Burke's proposed legislation.

"By telling my story, I hope I will draw in some of the people who really do believe sincerely in the right to life, and to share with them I, too, want to be a parent," she said. "I love children. I want to see children grow. But I understand, because of the life that I've lived, it's actually very complicated."

Burke said her team worked up to the final minutes to get all three bills ready. She hasn't spoken with GOP leaders yet but said she's eager to find friendly faces on the other side of the aisle and get those conversations started soon.

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