FRANKFORT — Saying it’s the “right thing to do,” Sen. David Yates, a Louisville Democrat, is again asking the legislature to consider providing exceptions in Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban for rape, incest and fetus viability. Yates filed a bill Tuesday, the first day of the 2025 legislative session, which is identical to one he filed in 2024 that failed to advance.  Senate Bill 35 would allow Kentuckians to get abortions in the case of pregnancy from rape or incest, and in cases of lethal fetal anomalies. Kentucky’s only current exception is when the life of the mother is in immediate jeopardy.  Yates believes there is appetite even in the Republican-controlled legislature to pass more exceptions this year, saying, “I don’t think this is a partisan issue” and “I’m hoping that we’ll have enough support to be able to get some form of exceptions passed.”   In past years, both Republicans and Democrats have filed bills to allow abortions in the case of rape and incest, but none have advanced.  President-elect Donald Trump, too, has indicated some support for abortion exceptions, despite nominating Supreme Court justices who helped to overturn Roe V. Wade, which  had established the constitutional right to abortion. “I think that President-elect Trump has done it. I think the Republican candidate for governor, Daniel Cameron … expressed support for this,” Yates said. “Several state office holders have said that. I think the general public understands that there should be some limitations to government’s power and restrictions within the home.”  Yates also pointed to personal experience — his wife’s nonviable pregnancy during the in vitro fertilization process years ago.  “This is personal to me,” Yates said. “Me and my wife went through the IVF process. And when you don’t have a viable fetus, and they come and tell you that … I think it is inhumane to tell a woman that she needs to go home and wait for it to die naturally, when you know that’s inevitable.”  He added: “I think it’s horrific that you would prolong that hurt, especially, I think, of a woman who wanted nothing more in the world (than) to be a mother.”  Yates pointed to cases he worked as an assistant attorney general  in which little girls were “raped and impregnated,” sometimes by family members. He called it “cruel” to “force them to carry that baby.”  “I’ve been around in government a long time, and I think it’s dangerous when government makes decisions for you,” Yates said. “How someone personally feels about abortion and what they do in these situations, I believe that that should be their decision.”  Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, is also expected to file an abortion bill. Hers, however, would restore all access to abortion and is unlikely to pass.  Kentucky Senate avoids vote on abortion exceptions Yates wants an “open, honest debate” about the issue during this session.  “I think that there’s some things that are more important than getting reelected and it’s doing the right thing,” Yates said. “This affects Kentuckians, and they deserve us to move forward.”  At the end of last session, Yates tried to force a vote on abortion exceptions by citing Rule 48, which allows any member to call for a vote on whether a bill has been “held an unreasonable time” by filing a discharge petition. The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday adopted new rules for this session, including one that says a discharge petition must be filed and read into the record a day before a floor vote.  “Regardless of how you feel on this issue, it’s just important enough of an issue to Kentucky that we should debate,” Yates said. “I think there’s lots of people that don’t agree with me, that maybe think there should be no exceptions, but I think most people would at least agree that we should have that debate open, honestly, on the floor.”  The post ‘This is personal to me’: Louisville Democrat will try again to add exceptions to abortion ban  appeared first on The Lexington Times.