The Yes for Life Amendment simply says “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.” It’s 25 simple and strait forward words but abortion on demand forces are stretching the truth and in some cases outright lying about what Amendment #2 does.

Why Amendment #2 is Needed:

It keeps judges in their lane of applying the law, not inventing new rights like Louisville Circuit Judge Mitchell Perry did on July 22, 2022 when he blocked Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act. The Amendment also clearly says that tax funds shouldn’t be used for abortion, which isn’t the case now, but could be with creative judicial interpretation. This Amendment  stops a state level Roe v Wade. It also preserves the people’s voice on abortion policy through their elected officials.

Protect Kentucky Access Impugns the Kentucky legislature as “extreme.”

Truth: The Human Life Protection Act was a bipartisan measure. It passed the Kentucky House on February 25, 2021 by a margin of 76-20. This bill also passed the Senate by a margin of 32-6 on March 30, 2021. Both Democrats and Republican voted for this in the House and Senate.

Protect Kentucky Access says Politicians are “restricting your freedom.” and say on their website: “Don’t let politicians restrict your freedom. A constitutional amendment will be on the ballot November 8 that would outlaw abortion in all cases, with NO exceptions. Kentuckians should be in charge of private medical decisions, not politicians.

Truth: If anything, Amendment #2 restricts judges from inventing rights out of thin air. It also preserve the rights of voters to have their voice heard when it comes to important public policy issues. To say that “restricting freedom” means the inability to end the life and unborn child has not been reflected in public policy. The Kentucky state legislature enacted 13 pro life laws in the past six years. This reflects the will of the people as they continue to vote for pro-life leaders and have to increased pro-life majorities in the legislature in each of the past six years.

Truth: Amendment #2 does not outlaw any abortions. It restricts judges from inventing a right to abortion. To say that Amendment #2 “would outlaw abortion in all cases, with NO exceptions” is patently false.  Under current Kentucky law,  there is an abortion exception to preserve the life and health of a pregnant woman with a complicated pregnancy. Passage of Amendment #2 will not change this provision.

Scary Text messages sent from Access4All:

Hi ______, I’m Nara from Access4All. Extreme Amendment 2 will lead to a total ban on abortion in KY with no exceptions. Will you vote “no” 11/8?

If passed, our wives, sisters, and daughters experiencing miscarriage or other complicated pregnancies will be at risk of death. And those who are victims of incest or assault will be left without options. Go to accessforallky.com for more info.

Truth: Amendment #2 does nothing to prevent medical care to help women with complicated pregnancies. It does nothing to prevent them from getting the medical help they need regarding miscarriages. Amendment #2 says nothing about incest, or sexual assault. Those are separate issues the legislature can address at any time that it is in session. This text message is a simple scare tactic meant to mislead Kentucky women.

Mailer:

When politicians interfere in our personal decisions the result is disastrous.

Amendment 2 in Kentucky is government overreach, which will ban all abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is at risk. It’s critical that we protect our constitutional rights. If the amendment passes: it will pave the way for KY to permanent ban abortion in all cases; all abortion will be illegal, no matter what; politicians will impose their personal beliefs on all Kentuckians.

Truth: This mailer is a misdirection and another scare tactic. Kentucky political leaders have worked to create a culture of life for the past six years. That’s why they’ve passed 13 pro-life laws since 2016. Several of these laws have been challenged by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. Interestingly, both groups have funded nearly half (45% as of 10/12/22) of Protect Kentucky Access’s budget. 

Truth: Kentucky voters approve protections for the unborn, like late-term abortion bans and abortions targeting females, minorities, and the disabled. This is why Kentucky voters continue to elect pro-life candidates who work to implement pro-life policies. 

Truth: This amendment does not ban all abortions. Kentucky law has never restricted women who experience miscarriage or complicated pregnancies from getting the medical help they need. Amendment #2 doesn’t change this.

Truth: The accusation that “politicians will impose their personal beliefs on all Kentuckians” is ridiculous. Those who sent out these mailers are trying to impose their personal beliefs of abortion on demand  on all Kentucky.

False TV Ads:

Transcript for Protect Kentucky Access Ad of Grandmother talking about granddaughter having access to abortion.

“My Husband and I had two wonderful children and one amazing granddaughter. My daughter’s pregnancy was hard, but my granddaughter was born healthy. We were so fortunate. But the same doesn’t apply to all pregnancies. If Amendment 2 passes, my granddaughter may not have the option to end a pregnancy to stay alive and that’s unimaginable. My granddaughter shouldn’t have fewer rights than I did. We can’t go backwards. Amendment 2 is an extreme mandate made by politicians and it goes too far. Vote No.”

Transcript for Protect Kentucky Access Ad of a woman who had an abortion

“Everyone hopes for a healthy pregnancy and baby. That wasn’t my story. We had multiple tests and doctor visits. We wanted this baby, but both me and the baby were at risk. Amendment 2 means no abortions, no exceptions. Kentucky politicians don’t understand their mandate will put women’s lives in danger. It’s an impossible decision. I can’t imagine a politician making it for me. Amendment 2 goes too far. Please, for our families and yours, vote no.”

Truth: This is false and misleading. The amendment does not outlaw abortions in all cases. Under current Kentucky law,  abortion is legal if necessary to preserve the life and health of a pregnant woman with a complicated pregnancy. Passage of Amendment #2 will not change this provision.

Claims on Protect Kentucky Access’s Website:

“If this initiative passes, we will see our constitutional rights eroded before our very eyes.”

Truth: Abortion is not a protected right under the Kentucky Constitution. Nor is abortion a protected right under the U.S. Constitution. Abortion has only been manufactured as a right by judges who are generally not accountable to the people.

“…This year we’re facing Amendment 2, a ballot initiative that, if approved by voters, will amend our state constitution to permanently ban all abortion, with no exceptions for rape, incest or a woman’s life. A total ban on abortion could even threaten the life of a woman having a miscarriage.”

Truth: Amendment #2 does not ban all abortions. There is already an exception to preserve the life and health of a pregnant woman. Amendment #2 does not address the difficult yet rare cases of sexual assault. Amendment #2 does nothing to impede the medical attention a woman facing a miscarriage needs. These lies are meant to mislead and scare Kentucky women.

According to PKA Campaign Manager Rachel Sweet in a press release.

“On November 8, Kentuckians will vote on Amendment 2, which will mandate government control of our private medical decisions and pave the way for a permanent ban on abortion, with no exceptions. We ask Kentuckians to vote no on Amendment 2 because it puts the lives of women and girls at risk.”

Truth: Rachel Sweet is an out-of-state activist who works for Planned Parenthood. She previously led efforts in Kansas to defeat their constitutional amendment. Amendment #2 will not put women and girls in Kentucky at risk. This is a scare tactic and a lie.

Truth About Protect Kentucky Access:

It is led by Rachel Sweet from Kansas. She led the efforts in Kansas to defeat their constitutional amendment in August. PKA has raised over $3 million. So, where’s their funding coming from?  83% of it has come from out of state donors including former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg who donated $250,000. The ACLU has contributed $400,000, and Planned Parenthood affiliates from across the nation have contributed $964,000. In fact, 45% of PKA’s donations have come from the ACLU and Planned Parenthood.

Why would these outside groups spend so much money to influence public policy in the Commonwealth?

The bottom line is that abortion is a lucrative business. Planned Parenthood profits off of performing abortions. According to their 2020-21 annual report, they performed 383,460 abortions. If the low end of $500 per abortion is calculated, Planned Parenthood raked in at least  $191,730,000 from abortion.

If they can defeat the amendment, and with a favorable judicial ruling, they could set up abortion centers across the Commonwealth to service surrounding states that have strictly regulated abortion on demand. Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri all have significant abortion restrictions. A “no” vote could make Kentucky an abortion mecca for this region of the nation.

Truth: A “Yes” vote protects Kentucky voters’ self-determination to create their own laws.

A “Yes” vote prevents judges from inventing abortion rights in our constitution

A “Yes” vote keeps out of state interests from exploiting us.

And a “Yes” vote keeps public tax dollars from being used for abortion.