Gov. Beshear vetoes bill GOP says will add 'clarity' to Kentucky's abortion ban medical exceptions

Alex Acquisto, Lexington Herald-Leader on Mar 25, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a GOP-backed bill supporters say will help clarify exceptions to Kentucky’s strict abortion ban.

House Bill 90 “restricts access to medical care, places barriers on doctors and undermines their clinical judgment, and threatens the life of pregnant women in Kentucky,” Beshear, a Democrat, said in his veto message Tuesday evening, contradicting what Republicans have said about the measure.

The bill does not expand exceptions to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban, which has been in place since 2022. Rather, bill sponsors sought to clarify language about when doctors can legally intervene with a “medically necessary” abortion to save a pregnant woman’s life.

The bill also tries to clarify that doctors who make these decisions using their “reasonable medical judgment” would not be subject to the criminal penalty attached to the current law.

“We wanted to make sure we’re protecting doctors making decisions to protect the patient,” Middletown Republican Rep. Jason Nemes said on the House floor March 13 when presenting the bill.

But Beshear, who campaigned for a second term on the need to add more exceptions to Kentucky’s strict ban, said the bill puts patients “further at risk.”

“Although supporters of House Bill 90 claim it protects pregnant women and clarifies abortion law in Kentucky, it actually does the opposite,” the governor said.

He added that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists “shares these concerns” by “clearly stating that it does not support this bill” and urging him to veto it.

Abortion has remained illegal in Kentucky since July 2022 under a trigger law and six-week ban, or fetal heartbeat law, which amount to a near-total ban, except in medical emergencies threatening a pregnant woman’s life.

The Republican supermajority General Assembly returns to session for two days, Thursday and Friday, with an opportunity to override Beshear’s vetoes.

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