Cameron addresses abortion law, following amendment vote

That case came exactly a week after Kentucky voters voted down a proposed amendment, Amendment 2, that would add language to the constitution denying the right to an abortion exists there.

“In 2019, Kentucky passed the Human Life Protection Act — which I remind people passed on a bipartisan basis,” he told The Sun. “In fact, Angie Hatton, who is a Democratic representative from eastern Kentucky…voted for it. I remind people that Rocky Adkins, who serves as an advisor to Gov. (Andy) Beshear, voted for the Human Life Protection Act.

“When the Dobbs (vs. Jackson (Miss.) Women’s Health Organization) decision was entered in that overturned Roe (v. Wade), that immediately went into effect.”

Cameron said that as the attorney general, his duty is to defend the laws passed by the General Assembly.

“We had the oral argument in front of the state Supreme Court on Nov. 15 by Solicitor General Matt Kuhn,” he said. “I think he did a wonderful job, and it remains to be how the justices will ultimately render their judgment on that case. I suspect they will do that in the coming weeks ahead.”

Cameron said the Amendment 2 vote defeating the proposed addition of a constitutional statement denying the right to abortion within the state constitution should not factor into the Supreme Court’s decision.

“In my perspective, what the justices should be looking at is just the laws themselves, the Human Life Protection Act,” he said. “That is what they should be focused on. I know some of the justices have made references to Amendment 2, but they are separate matters in terms of the law that was passed in 2019 that is in effect now.

“There are a lot of strong feelings and opinions around this issue, and I understand that, but we ultimately have a duty and responsibility in the attorney general’s office to make sure that we defend the laws that are passed by the General Assembly.”

Cameron and the attorney general’s office took some criticism in its handling of the case of the death of Breonna Taylor for not giving the grand jury the option to consider murder charges.

“I’m proud of the work our office did to look at the events surrounding the early morning of Ms. Taylor’s passing,” he said. “We had a group of career investigators and prosecutors that looked at the case, and I’m proud of the work they did.

“I make the distinction between what we were looking at — which was the morning of her death, which is what happened when the warrant was executed. I make that distinction with what the federal government was looking at, which was the warrant process and the process that was undertaken to obtain the warrant. That’s a completely separate question that the federal government was looking at.”

Cameron spent the day recently in western Kentucky, making visits to the Kentucky Veteran and Patriot Museum in Wickliffe and the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce before attending an event that evening.

Cameron is a Republican Party candidate for governor in the 2023 election.