Equal Protection Bill That Would End Abortion Introduced in Kentucky

Unlike other pro-life bills, House Bill 523 is groundbreaking because it applies equal protection to babies in the womb, ensuring that their lives are valued just as much as those already born.

This is a very emotional issue, and no matter how a bill is worded, there can be disagreement even among Christians over the matter. All are encouraged to read it extremely carefully, stand back, and apply the biblical principle that all human life made in the image of God begins at fertilization and that abortion is the deliberate taking of a human life. Should not we be doing all we can to protect human life?

This bill would “create new sections of KRS Chapter 507, relating to criminal homicide, to allow a prosecution where the victim is an unborn child”—in other words, it would equally apply our current laws to unborn children, treating them as fully human and deserving of equal protection under the law. Unlike other pro-life bills, House Bill 523 is groundbreaking because it applies equal protection to babies in the womb, ensuring that their lives are valued just as much as those already born. Here’s the full summary of the bill:

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 507, relating to criminal homicide, to allow a prosecution where the victim is an unborn child; provide exceptions for spontaneous miscarriages and lawful medical procedures; amend KRS 507.010 to define terms; create new sections of KRS Chapter 508, relating to assault, to define terms; allow a prosecution where the victim is an unborn child; provide exceptions for spontaneous miscarriages and lawful medical procedures; amend KRS 501.090 to allow the defense of duress in a prosecution of intentional homicide where the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is the child’s mother; create a new section of KRS Chapter 15 to give the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction with Commonwealth’s and county attorneys; repeal KRS 507A.010, 507A.020, 507A.030, 507A.040, 507A.050, and 507A.060, relating to fetal homicide; amend KRS 311.732, 402.205, and 439.265 to conform; provide that the Act may be cited as the Prenatal Equal Protection Act.

You’ll probably hear—even, sadly, from many of today’s mainstream pro-life groups—that this bill would unfairly punish women, but it’s actually really simple—it just applies the law equally to all people, as one of the bill’s sponsors Rep. Josh Calloway, explained to a local reporter:

LEX 18 asked one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Josh Calloway, about the intentions behind the bill. Are they focused on prosecution?

“This bill is not focused specifically on prosecution of anyone, it’s about protection for the baby,” said Calloway. “So that a baby, if they are killed before they are born, they would get the same constitutional right and scrutiny from our court system as anybody else would.”

“It’s really to make sure that they get the same due process that you or I would get if we were killed,” he added.

And it’s worth noting that this bill acknowledges that some women seeking abortions are coerced or misled. That’s why it includes a legal defense of duress for the mother, ensuring that justice is rightly applied. The goal is not punishment but protection—ensuring that preborn children receive the same legal recognition and justice as any other human being. This is a crucial measure that loves and protects both mothers and the preborn.

The goal is not punishment but protection—ensuring that preborn children receive the same legal recognition and justice as any other human being.

You can find answers to frequently asked questions, like the one that reporter asked, on Abolish Abortion KY’s website.

If you live in Kentucky, you can contact your Kentucky representatives and other members of government, such as the chair of the judiciary committee, the current Kentucky Speaker of the House, and the current Speaker pro tempore, today to urge them to support this bill (time is running out so please contact them today!). As Christians, we are called to stand for the protection of innocent life:

Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. (Proverbs 24:11)

And that includes the unborn, fearfully and wonderfully made by God:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)

It only takes a few minutes to contact your representatives, and it can make a big difference.

Other states—including Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Carolina—all have similar bills in the works, according to End Abortion Now’s website. You can find details on their website.

And if you’d like to learn more about the state of abortion in America, watch Abortion Free: What’s Really Going on in Post-Roe America?, an eye-opening six-part series now streaming on our streaming platform, Answers TV. You can watch with your subscription or with a free 7-day trial.

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.