Representatives Richard White and Josh Calloway File Bill to Abolish Abortion in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, KY - State Representatives Richard White and Josh Calloway filed HB 523, which would classify the act of abortion as homicide and provide equal protection to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization.
Kentucky currently regulates abortion at conception, but mothers are given blanket legal immunity to take the lives of their preborn children. As a result, over 2,000 Kentucky babies are still being murdered legally in the state every year.[1]
The bill was officially announced at a press conference hosted by Abolish Abortion Kentucky inside of the Kentucky State Capitol.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention has taken a strong stance in support of equal protection and in support of HB 523. In 2024, the Kentucky Baptist Convention adopted a resolution exhorting elected officials in Kentucky “to take all necessary steps to legally abolish abortion and establish equal justice and protection for the preborn in the Commonwealth regardless of the means by which the abortions may be sought or the location from which they originate.”
Todd Gray, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention told Kentucky Today,
“I am glad to see HB 523 filed as it gets to the root of the pro-life issue — extending the same rights to pre-born boys and girls as are recognized for those who are born.”
Additionally, 128 pastors from across Kentucky signed a joint statement in support of HB 523.
HB 523 is not the first bill of equal protection that has been filed in Kentucky. In 2023, State Representative Emily Callaway filed HB 300, which was opposed by Kentucky Right to Life and denounced by then Attorney General, Daniel Cameron.
Representatives White and Calloway are on the political front lines of the war against abortion. If you live in Kentucky, please contact your state legislators and ask them to co-author HB 523.
NOTES:
Foundation to Abolish Abortion, Babies Unprotected: An Analysis of Self-Induced Abortion Numbers in States with “Bans”, published October 16, 2024, accessed January 28, 2025, https://faa.life/sma.