Kentucky lawmaker files 'Hadley's Law,' a bill aimed at softening state's 'extreme' abortion ban

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, announced plans Tuesday to file a bill aimed at softening Kentucky's "extreme" abortion ban to include exemptions for survivors of rape and incest as well as woman who have non-viable pregnancies.

Yates said in a news conference from the Capitol Rotunda that the bill — which he's calling "Hadley's Law" — will allow doctors to consider the health of pregnant women in abortion cases.

"I believe this is a small step in the right direction for a very limited number of victims that we can help," Yates said.

The "Hadley" in Hadley's Law refers to Hadley Duvall, who was the subject of a campaign ad released in September by Gov. Andy Beshear. In it, Duvall said she became pregnant at the age of 12 after being raped by her stepfather. She attacked Attorney General Daniel Cameron — at the time, also the Republican gubernatorial nominee — for his reported position of supporting no exceptions for rape or incest under Kentucky law.

Duvall said Tuesday that no woman should feel as if they have to carry a child that's a reminder of a trauma.

"There are women and girls who went through the same trauma that I went through," Duvall said. "Those women and girls need their choices. This bill will provide those."

Earlier this 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.

Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have denied any constitutional protections for abortion.

Beshear said Hadley's Law were to pass and hit his desk, he would sign immediately. But it is up to Republicans in Frankfort how far the bill goes, some of whom have said there have been conversations about including exceptions in the state's abortion law.

Past efforts to add exceptions, including one by Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, have failed.

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