Kentucky lawmakers are hoping to address female reproductive health and healthcare services, adoption and abortion during the 2025 session of the General Assembly. Here are some of the bills filed so far.
Abortion
Senate Bill 35 would amend several sections of Kentucky's current abortion law to allow exceptions for elective abortions and clarify under what circumstances a physician can determine that an abortion is necessary.
Elective abortions permitted under the bill would include if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest and the fetus has not reached viability.
Necessary abortions would include those that preserve the life of the pregnant woman or avoid "a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function," remove a dead unborn fetus, remove an ectopic pregnancy or incomplete miscarriage and remove a fetus with a lethal anomaly or that is "incompatible with sustained life outside of the womb," regardless of if the fetus has reached viability or not.
Under current Kentucky law, abortions are permitted "to prevent the death or substantial risk of death due to a physical condition, or to prevent the serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman" or when a physician determines the abortion is necessary. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has reported numerous women have had ectopic pregnancy removal treatments since the state's abortion ban went into effect in 2022.
SB 35 also adds ectopic pregnancy and incomplete miscarriage to the law's definition of "abortion" and permits the use of public agency funds to pay for the performance of an abortion when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, and the fetus has not reached viability.
Bill sponsor Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, filed similar legislation last session. SB 99 — also known as "Hadley's Law"— was never assigned to a committee.
House Bill 203, similar to SB 35, would amend a section of Kentucky's current abortion law to allow exceptions for abortions, including if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest and in instances where there is a lethal fetal anomaly.
The bill is sponsored by three House Republicans. Primary sponsor Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, filed similar legislation in 2024, but the bill was never heard in committee.
Women's Reproductive Health
House Bill 43 will address maternal health disparities in perinatal care, which is the provision of healthcare during pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum periods.
The bill will require health facilities that offer perinatal care to provide a patient with written information about her right to refuse treatment and participate in decision-making about her care, be free of discrimination, be informed of health care requirements following her discharge from the hospital and understand how to file any grievances with relevant entities.
Licensed health facilities will also be required to implement a training program on maternal health disparities for perinatal care providers, and the Department of Public Health will be required to track and publish pregnancy-related death data.
House Bill 90 and Senate Bill 17 are mirrored pieces of legislation that direct the Cabinet to establish licensure standards for freestanding birthing centers and outline operational requirements for such facilities, including patient transfer agreements with a licensed emergency medical transportation service and parameters for written informed consent obtained from clients receiving care.
HB 90's primary sponsor, Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, has filed similar legislation every session since 2021, drawing bipartisan sponsor support. His 2024 bill passed on the House floor, but stalled in a Senate committee.
Sen. Shelley Funky Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, primary sponsor of SB 17, filed similar legislation in both 2023 and 2024. The bills died in committee both years.
Senate Bill 16 would direct Medicaid to cover midwifery services provided by a licensed, certified professional midwife.
House Bill 74 would require public schools and public charter schools with students between fourth and twelfth grade to provide at least one feminine hygiene product—such as tampons or sanitary napkins—to female students at no cost.
House Bill 122 and House Bill 123 would add breast pumps and breast pump collection and storage supplies, diapers, baby wipes, baby bottles, certain incontinence products and menstrual discharge collection devices to a list of tax exempt items.
Adoption
House Bill 164 would allow courts to enter a judgment of adoption in pending proceedings after a child's death under certain conditions.
Senate Bill 26 would prevent adoption petitions from being denied on the sole basis of a disability of the adoptive applicant without considering if adaptive or supportive services could enable the applicant to provide care and protection for the child.
The General Assembly is currently in recess until Feb. 4, when both chambers will reconvene and have an opportunity to act on these bills.
The State Capitol in Frankfort. (Kentucky Today/Frank Peer)
