We are nearly two months into the 2024 Legislative Session and there is a lot happening! Please see below for a list of repro bills we are tracking so far.
House Bills We’re Tracking
House Bill 10: KY Lifeline for Moms
This bill would establish the Kentucky maternal psychiatry access program, also known as the Kentucky Lifeline for Moms; establish duties and responsibilities of the program; direct that the program shall be operated by the Department for Public Health, Division of Maternal and Child Health.
Sponsor: Moser, K.Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 173: Medicaid Coverage for Midwives
This bill would require the Department for Medicaid Services and any managed care organization with whom the department contracts for the delivery of Medicaid services to provide coverage for certified professional midwifery services that are provided by a licensed certified professional midwife; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to seek federal approval if such approval is deemed necessary.
Sponsor: Kulkarni, N.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 179: Insurers’ Ability to Transact Paid Leave
This bill would authorize life and health insurers to transact disability income and paid family leave insurance.Sponsor: Heavrin, S.
Current Status: Passed House
House Bill 183: Disabled Parents’ Rights
This bill would add disability as a reason upon which a petition for adoption shall not be denied.Sponsor: Tate, N.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 195: Family Care Leave
This bill would create a new section of KRS Chapter 337 to prohibit employers from refusing to grant a qualified employee family care leave; entitle an employee to family care leave for the birth of a child or to take care of a family member and establish parameters.
Sponsor: Stevenson, C.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 199: Freestanding Birth Centers
This bill would require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate updated administrative regulations to establish licensure standards for freestanding birthing centers.
Sponsor: Nemes, J.
Current Status: Assigned to Committee
House Bill 202: Certificate of Need Bill (Abortion Clinics)
This bill would modify conditions under which a person is prohibited from taking actions without a certificate of need.
Sponsor: Proctor, M.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 243: Child Support for the Unborn
This bill would add that a child support action may be filed any time following conception.
Sponsor: Neighbors, A.
Current Status: Assigned to Judiciary
House Bill 252: Consent for Medical Examinations
This bill would prohibit a health care provider from performing a pelvic, rectal, or prostate examination without the informed consent of the patient or the person authorized to make health care decisions for the patient; provide for certain exceptions including a court order; require violators to be subject to discipline by the appropriate professional licensing board or accrediting agency.
Sponsor: Stalker, S.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 346: “Baby Olivia” Bill
This bill would require a school district to adopt health curricula that includes human growth and development instruction that meets specific criteria; set restrictions for the instruction that grants parents an opportunity to review materials and opt their child out of instruction; authorize the Attorney General to bring an action for a writ of mandamus to compel a school district to comply; create a cause of action to permit parents and students over the age of 18 to file a civil action a school district for injunctive relief for a violation of this section; waive sovereign and governmental immunity
Sponsor: Tate, N.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 428: North Star Bill
This bill would repeal Kentucky’s ban on abortion and establish reproductive rights for the people of Kentucky.
Sponsor: Burke, L.
Current Status: Introduced
House Bill 429: Medical Privacy for Reproductive Care
This bill would establish privacy protections for a woman seeking reproductive health care outside of the Commonwealth.
Sponsor: Burke, L.
Current Status: Introduced
Senate Bills We’re Tracking
Senate Bill 89: Medicaid Coverage for Midwives
This bill would require the Department for Medicaid Services and any managed care organization with whom the department contracts for the delivery of Medicaid Services to provide coverage for certified professional midwifery services that are provided by a licensed certified professional midwife.
Sponsor: Funke Frommeyer, S.
Current Status: Passed out of Committee
Senate Bill 95: Lactating Students
This bill would require public schools, public charter schools, and public postsecondary institutions to provide reasonable accommodations to a lactating student.
Sponsor: Chambers Armstrong, C.
Current Status: Assigned to Education
Senate Bill 97: Diaper Tax
This bill would exempt all diapers from the sales and use tax.
Sponsor: Chambers Armstrong, C.
Current Status: Assigned to Appropriations & Revenue
Senate Bill 99: Abortion Exceptions (Hadley’s Law)
This bill would allow an abortion when there is a lethal fetal anomaly or the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside the womb, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, and the fetus has not reached viability as determined in the good-faith medical judgment of the physician. It would provide an exception to the time requirement for consent when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, provide an exception for abortion counseling when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, and authorize the use of public funds for abortion when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Sponsor: Yates, D.
Current Status: Introduced
Action to Take
We encourage you to be in touch with your legislators daily to demand an end to the attacks on reproductive healthcare. Please call the legislative message line daily at 1-800-372-7181 to register your disapproval with your legislators on these pieces of legislation. All you need to know is your address. You can reference the bill numbers listed above.
Information listed above has been gathered from the ACLU of Kentucky. For additional actions on these bills and up-to-the-minute updates on all things legislative, make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter.