January 8, 2026
The day before students and volunteers with Students for Life Action (SFLAction) descended upon Kentucky’s capitol, Rep. Lindsey Burke (D) introduced House Bill 22—a bill that, if passed, would legalize abortion up until the point of viability*, as well as legislate wide-scale commonwealth-funded abortion, target children for abortions, and even create the opportunity for abortion up to nine months, among other provisions.
Government-Funded Abortion
Kentucky House Bill 22 would pass commonwealth-funded abortion into law by adding abortion coverage to government employees’ health insurance, allowing trust fund money allotted to rape crisis centers to be used for abortions, and adding abortions to Medicaid healthcare coverage. It would also allow government-funded family resource and youth services centers to influence clients to get abortions and refer them to abortion vendors (discussed further below).
READ: Pro-Life Voters Say NO to Taxpayer Funding for Abortion
Struck out from the bill is language preventing health departments from giving out Chemical Abortion Pills, meaning the commonwealth itself would be giving preborn children the death penalty.
Targeting Underage Children
Children outside the womb aren’t safe either under House Bill 22. School districts’ family resource and youth services centers—government funded, of course—would no longer be prohibited from influencing youth to get abortions nor from referring them to abortion vendors. It also removes the requirement of obtaining permission from parents or guardians before performing an abortion on a minor, leaving the lives and health of not just one, but two children at the hands of abortion vendors.
Opening up Abortion on Demand
Hidden in House Bill 22 is a provision that could allow for abortion on demand up to nine months.
The bill allows the Governor to suspend abortion-related statutes during declared emergencies. According to Kentucky law, the Governor can declare a state of emergency for public health disasters.
With a pro-abortion governor like Gov. Andy Beshear, who publicly supports Roe v. Wade, the possibility of a no-access-to-abortion public health emergency being declared to suspend Kentucky legislation protecting preborn children is very real.
This horrific bill highlights the importance of SFLAction’s work in passing pro-life legislation across the country. Our January 7 lobby day in Kentucky was just the beginning. We will continue our tireless work to protect the lives of preborn children in Kentucky and beyond.
Current Kentucky law illegalizes nearly all abortions, with exceptions for life of the mother and serious damage to life-sustaining organs.
*It should be noted that viability is not a set gestational age and can range from 20 weeks to 26 weeks and six days; however, gestational age is not the only factor in determining viability.