Earlier this week, Andy Beshear took it upon himself to preemptively opine on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 9, which seeks to prohibit an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Our sources tell us that Beshear reached out to Robert Stivers and David Osborne to warn them that if this bill is enacted, it will end up costing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in defense of a case he feels certain would lose.
While we are far from legal scholars, we are certain Beshear is right about this. The Supreme Court of the United States has always used viability as a measuring stick for laws dealing with abortion. Fetal heartbeats are detected well before viability.
However, like everything in Frankfort, we need to look past the issues on the surface and find the political undertones. Why would Beshear take this approach right now? To begin with, we believe he wants to look firm as Attorney General as a way to gain some gravitas. Secondly, we don’t think he wants to be defending a pro-life law while vying for the Democratic nomination for governor. Adam Edelen has already come out vocally as pro-choice. If Beshear and Adkins appear to be pro-life, Edelen has a road to victory in the primary.
Now why is the bill even being considered if the constitutionality of it is severe doubt? We suspect that Matt Castlen, the bill’s sponsor, and his cohorts of co-sponsors want to appear to be increasingly pro-life. To them, it doesn’t matter if something stands up in court, but rather that they “fight the good fight.” Never let the law get in the way of a good political point.
So here’s the rub. We expect the Senate to pass the bill for political fodder. Will the House follow suit and do the same? Or will they stop the bill, knowing the amount of money that would likely be wasted on a court case?
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