“…Coleman posted…that he was proud of Cameron for defending Kentucky’s laws and values after an appeals court reinstated the abortion ban. ‘If I have the privilege to serve in the high office, I’ll build on this great work to fight for all human life,’ Coleman posted.”
Following weeks of Kentucky GOP Gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron flip-flopping on rape and incest exceptions for abortion, his would-be replacement and best man at his wedding, Russell Coleman, has pulled the exact same flip-flop.
Coleman previously defended Cameron’s actions in support of Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban in court, saying he was “proud to have an Attorney General who defends Kentucky’s laws and values. If I have the privilege to serve in the high office, I’ll build on this great work to fight for all human life.”
(They really are best friends who just want to uphold Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban.)
Read more about Coleman’s staunch anti-abortion record below.
Herald Leader: Republican AG nominee: I support abortion exceptions to “not re-traumatize” women
BY Tessa Duvall | 10/4/23
Key Points:
- In a new interview released Wednesday by Spectrum News 1, GOP nominee for Attorney General Russell Coleman said he believes that women impregnated by rape and incest are “crime victims first and foremost.” “We would re-traumatize these women by forcing them to have a child that was conceived out of rape or out of incest,” Coleman said. “While I will enforce the law as passed by the General Assembly — that’s the job — I am pro-life, but I support the exceptions for rape and for incest, to not re-traumatize these women, and I would ask, call on the General Assembly, to take a hard look at that issue.”
- Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade last year, Kentucky’s trigger ban took effect, criminalizing abortion except when a pregnant person’s life is threatened. Concurrently, a fetal heartbeat law, or six-week ban, also became enforceable. That law outlaws abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy. As attorney general, Coleman would be responsible for defending Kentucky’s laws in court.
- Prior to Coleman’s Spectrum News 1 interview, most of his comments about abortion had come in the form of candidate questionnaires and social media posts. One statewide anti-abortion group that opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest noted Coleman had given “100% ProLife” answers to its questionnaire.
- Cameron has staunchly defended the abortion ban as-is, before saying little more than two weeks ago that he would sign a bill adding such exceptions.
- The Beshear campaign has also released two ads hitting Cameron for his support of the existing law, and Planned Parenthood is also running ads against him. Coleman is seeking to take over Cameron’s seat in a race against Rep. Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville. Ashley Wolsefer, Stevenson’s campaign manager, called Coleman a “dangerous extremist on abortion.” “Kentuckians don’t want politicians like him in their exam room,” she said. If elected, Stevenson would “refuse to prosecute patients or doctors under state law” and would use the attorney general’s bully pulpit to “defend the rights of patients and doctors,” the campaign said.
- In addition to being political allies who will appear together on the ballot this November, Cameron and Coleman are close personal friends; Cameron has said Coleman was the best man at his 2020 wedding.
- The Kentucky Right to Life Victory PAC endorsed Coleman in the Republican primary and noted he gave “100% ProLife Responses” to its questionnaire, which includes a section on exceptions for rape and incest. “Irrationally, society expects her to kill her unborn child, not for something the child has done, but for the crime of his/her father. Once again the mother is pitted against her child,” the questionnaire says. “Subjecting her to an abortion only compounds the initial violence of the rape.”
- Then, it asks two questions about rape and incest exceptions. “Do you believe that a child conceived as a result of rape or incest is any less human, has any less dignity than a child conceived in the loving embrace of their parents?” The only answers listed are “yes” and “no.” “Do you believe that a child conceived as a result of sexual assault should be protected by the same laws protecting the lives of children conceived naturally?” Again, the only answers listed are “yes” and “no.” The document’s instructions say “all questions must be completed to be considered for an endorsement.”
- The Herald-Leader asked Coleman’s campaign for a copy of his submitted answers. The campaign did not provide a copy.
- The Herald-Leader also asked Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life, for clarity about the questionnaire. The paper asked if “no” was the desired answer to the first question, and “yes” the desired answer to the second.” “Yes. 100% responses on the KY Victory PAC candidate questionnaire indicate their answers,” Wuchner said in a text message. “In addition, the PAC committee may utilize a face-to-face interview, community input, background, or voting record review.”
- On X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Coleman posted on Aug. 1, 2022, that he was proud of Cameron for defending Kentucky’s laws and values after an appeals court reinstated the abortion ban. “If I have the privilege to serve in the high office, I’ll build on this great work to fight for all human life,” Coleman posted, adding the hashtag “#prolife” at the end. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Coleman posted the nation is “on the way to cherishing the sanctity of all life.” He also touted his endorsement from anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, noting he will protect the state’s “pro-life values as the next Attorney General.” Wuchner reiterated to the Herald-Leader that “the humanity of the child is not lessened by the circumstances of their conception.” “Let me be clear, the gravity of sexual offenses such as rape or incest should never be in question.
Published: Oct 6, 2023 | Last Modified: Oct 30, 2023