Info on House Bill 646

Please email your state legislators to support House Bill 646. This is legislation to address two issues:

1. Medically assisted suicide
2. Abortion pills coming into the Commonwealth of Kentucky used for do-it-yourself abortions

The legislation has a purpose section that says that the government has an interest in protecting born and unborn human life, that the laws of Kentucky should not be undermined by actions done outside of Kentucky, and that abortion pills and assisted suicide medications pose unique risks of coercion, misuse, and exploitation.

If House Bill 646 becomes a law, the following things will happen:

• Abortion-inducing drugs become Schedule IV controlled substances with a penalty for knowingly possessing or transporting them unlawfully
• Transporting an abortion-inducing drug with intent to sell or distribute becomes a Class D felony without probation and without parole until 85% of the sentenced time-served is complete
• Physicians who believe that a woman is suffering a medical complication from taking an abortion pill shall give that woman or her legal representative a declaration of civil lawsuit rights and rights to have emergency medical care in light of taking that abortion pill; and those legal representatives can include parents, legal guardians, an estate, a spouse, or “next friend”
• Insurance policies cannot demand medically-assisted suicide as a treatment for any condition
• Surrogacy arrangements cannot permit medically-assisted suicide for the expectant mother
• Medically-assisted suicide becomes a Class B felony

According to the legislation, medically-assisted suicide happens when a physician or pharmacist knowingly provides or administers a drug that is planned to be used to kill "or hasten the death of" a human being or applies coercion for that purpose. Medically-assisted suicide does not include withdrawing extraordinary or disproportionate medical treatment that is futile or burdensome if food, water, and comfort continue to be offered to the dying patient. Taking someone off of life-support does not qualify as medically-assisted suicide if the patient’s wellness cannot be restored.

For context on the level of severity for medically-assisted suicide here, other Class B felonies in Kentucky include first degree assault, first degree burglary, and first degree manslaughter (e.g., causing a death by fentanyl overdose or accidental killing in an act intended to inflict physical harm but not death). The Class B felony can come with sentencing of 10 years in prison.

This bill does not put any penalty on the woman herself who conducts a do-it-yourself abortion.