FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Republican-backed bill touted as an attempt to bring clarity to Kentucky's near-total abortion ban was vetoed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who said it would do the opposite by undermining the judgment of doctors while further imperiling the lives of pregnant women in emergency situations.
Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter who is seen as a potential candidate for the White House in 2028, followed the advice of abortion-rights supporters who urged the governor to reject the measure.
Kentucky’s GOP supermajority legislature will have a chance to override Beshear’s veto when lawmakers reconvene Thursday for the final two days of this year’s 30-day session.
The bill's supporters said it's meant to offer clarity to doctors now fearful of breaking Kentucky law for terminating pregnancies while treating expectant mothers with grave complications. Delving into potential life-or-death situations, the bill aims to provide clear guidelines for doctors in such emergencies while maintaining Kentucky’s strict prohibitions against abortion, supporters said.
“Although supporters of House Bill 90 claim it protects pregnant women and clarifies abortion law in Kentucky, it actually does the opposite,” Beshear said in his veto message Tuesday evening.
The governor said the bill would block access to health care and put the lives of women facing crisis pregnancies at even more risk.
Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban has been in place since a so-called trigger law took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The Bluegrass State bans abortions except when carried out to save a mother’s life. Efforts to add exceptions for cases of rape or incest or when pregnancies are nonviable have made no headway in Kentucky’s legislature.
The new legislation would create a list of emergency situations in which abortions could be done to save the mother's life, but Beshear said it was flawed.
“The bill is silent on any other emergency situations,” the governor said in his message. “No one, including legislators, can possibly create an exhaustive list of emergency situations that may occur in a hospital or medical facility. Gaps in the law are literally a matter of life and death.”
A House Republican spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce abortion bans, exceptions have been a legal and political battleground.
The Kentucky bill says doctors exercising reasonable medical judgment may take action “separating a pregnant woman from her unborn child” in such cases as: lifesaving miscarriage management; emergency intervention for sepsis and hemorrhaging; procedures necessary to prevent the death or substantial risk of death of the pregnant woman; removal of an ectopic pregnancy; treatment of a molar pregnancy.
“It’s not meant to be an exhaustive list but it is the most common issues that physicians and mothers, who are facing a crisis pregnancy, are facing,” Republican state Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser said during a House debate on the measure.
In touting the bill, GOP state Rep. Jason Nemes said it would ensure that women "facing life-threatening situations receive timely, appropriate medical care, and gives providers the legal certainty they need to act decisively.”
Beshear faulted the bill for not containing language used by medical professionals.
“It also substitutes a physician's best clinical judgment with an ambiguous, unworkable ‘reasonable medical judgment’ standard that will make doctors hesitant to provide life-saving care for fear someone other than the treating doctor, like a prosecutor or a court, may after the fact find it ‘unreasonable,’” Beshear said. “These barriers to treatment could delay access to evidence-based and lifesaving care.”
Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life, was among the bill’s advocates, telling a legislative panel: “This is medical care that needs to take place in the commonwealth.”
David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, a socially conservative group, said the veto showed that Beshear is a “mouthpiece” for abortion-rights groups. Walls called it “pro-mom and pro-baby” bill meant to add clarity to Kentucky law to protect maternal health.
Abortion-rights supporter Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said Beshear “put patients over politics” with his veto.
“HB 90 was never about clarity or compassion," she said in a statement. “It ignored medical standards, used anti-abortion rhetoric like ‘maternal-fetal separation’ and would have forced doctors to delay care during medical emergencies.”
FILE - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear delivers his State of The Commonwealth address in the House chamber at the State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Those two regular-season losses to Kentucky don't mean anything to Tennessee now.
The Volunteers avenged them in convincing fashion on the big stage of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, posting a no-doubt 78-65 victory that sent them to a second consecutive Elite Eight.
Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court. The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986 and will play No. 1 seed Houston (33-4) on Sunday in the Midwest Region final.
“We really wanted to set the tone and show them who we were,” Zeigler said. “The first two times we played them at their place and our place. We knew regardless of what happened, we were going to go out and play Tennessee basketball on the offensive and defensive end, and I feel like we did that great tonight.”
No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols' most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with the win in the “House Peyton Built.”
Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope's third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.
“It’s hard to talk about basketball right now,” Pope said. “Congratulations to Tennessee. They played really hard and really well. I have a ton of respect for coach (Rick) Barnes. Mostly, we’re just sad that this is over.”
The Vols did what they failed to do in their first two meetings with Kentucky, when they lost 78-73 at home and 75-64 in Lexington. They've been one of the best in the nation at defending the 3-pointer, yet the Wildcats shot 12 of 24 on 3s in each of those games.
It was apparent early the Vols weren’t going to let the Wildcats put up 3s at will again. Kentucky finished 6 of 15 from distance.
The Vols were in full control by the middle of the first half, using relentless defense and attacking the glass to generate offense and build a 19-point lead.
They scored 13 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds on their way to a 43-28 lead at the half, only the second time Kentucky has been held under 30 points in a first half this season. Barnes is now 15-0 in the NCAA Tournament when up by 10 or more at halftime.
The Vols picked up where they left off at the start the second half, forcing a shot-clock violation and an airball 3 by Koby Brea on Kentucky's first two possessions. Their effort on the boards continued, too. They finished with 19 points on 14 offensive rebounds.
The Vols all but finished off the victory with under nine minutes to play after Butler cut the lead to 12. Felix Okpara chased down his missed shot and dunked it, and Lanier made a steal and passed to Ziegler. The 5-foot-9 Zeigler hit a 3 from the wing and then looked up and held a stare at the 6-10 Brandon Garrison, who was the nearest defender.
“It felt like we were playing Tennessee basketball, playing aggressive, playing smart all-around,” Okpara said.
Kentucky: The Wildcats maxed out — some would say overachieved — in Pope's first season. They returned no production from a year ago. Pope brought in nine transfers and they led Kentucky to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019.
Tennessee: The Vols are one win away from reaching the Final Four for the first time. While they've built a reputation as one of the nation's top defensive teams, their offense can't be overlooked. They shot 51% from the field against Kentucky and are getting big contributions from sixth man Gainey.
This was the fourth time in 11 years the Wildcats took a big loss in Indianapolis.
In 2015, they took a 38-0 record into their Final Four matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium and lost 71-64 to Wisconsin. They began the 2018-19 season with a 118-84 loss to Duke in a top-five matchup at nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and three years later they lost their NCAA Tournament opener to No. 15 seed Saint Peter's 85-79 in overtime at Gainbridge.
The Vols are having lots of fun in Indianapolis, on and off the court. Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, who played at Tennessee, got the team into a Gainbridge Fieldhouse suite to watch Wednesday's game against the Indiana Pacers. And then they had Manning — there's a statue of him outside Lucas Oil Stadium — cheering them on.
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Kentucky's Amari Williams (22) dunks during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament game against Tennessee Friday, March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Tennessee's Igor Milicic Jr. shoots over Kentucky's Andrew Carr (7) as Tennessee's Chaz Lanier (2) watches during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Tennessee's Darlinstone Dubar (8) celebrates alongside Kentucky's Ansley Almonor (15) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Tennessee's Zakai Zeigler (5) heads to the basket past Kentucky's Koby Brea, center, and Amari Williams, right, during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
