Bill > HB316

This bill amends Kentucky law to establish stricter regulations and penalties related to abortion and abortifacients. The bill defines key terms such as "abortifacient" as any medicine or substance used to cause an abortion, and introduces the concept of a "foreign sender" as someone who mails, sends, or prescribes abortion-inducing drugs to someone in Kentucky. The legislation creates significant criminal penalties for foreign senders who provide abortifacients, including potential Class C felony charges with fines up to $100,000. The bill also establishes a new civil cause of action that allows a woman who receives an abortifacient to sue the sender, with potential damages of $10,000 per abortion and the ability to seek injunctive relief and court costs. Additionally, the bill adds abortifacients to Schedule IV controlled substances, effectively increasing regulatory oversight of these drugs. The law maintains existing exceptions for medical procedures necessary to prevent the death or substantial risk of death to a pregnant woman, and explicitly states that the pregnant woman herself cannot be criminally prosecuted for an abortion. The bill's provisions are designed to take effect either upon a potential future Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade or the adoption of a constitutional amendment restoring state authority to restrict abortion.