BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, giving states the authority to regulate abortion

  • Kentucky banned abortion immediately following the decision because of a 2019 “trigger law”

  • A Jefferson County judge put the law on hold this week pending further court action in a legal challenge brought by the ACLU of Kentucky and Planned Parenthood

 

 

“One of the things about federalism that is good is it allows each sort of community and state to make their own rules,” he said.

And several states, including Kentucky, have moved to limit access to abortion. A 2019 law banning the procedure in Kentucky if Roe v. Wade is overturned was temporarily halted by a Jefferson County judge earlier this week.

“We are a country with a lot of different ideas and different opinions as far as abortion goes,” Paul said. “So you’ll find that probably the rules will be different in California than they will be in Kentucky, and I think that reflects the population.”

Speaking with Spectrum News 1 following a tour of the Guthrie Opportunity Center in Bardstown, Paul said having the states decide abortion laws is a good thing despite concerns from abortion rights supporters that limited access to abortion could lead to deadly outcomes for some potential mothers.  

“One of the things that government has a role in is protecting life,” Paul said. “We don’t let someone abuse a one-year-old, but should we let someone abuse a seven-pound baby right before it’s born? I mean, there are things that government should be involved with, and I think one is protecting the individual.”

Paul said he’s against abortion but didn’t say if he would support a federal ban on it.

“The only discussion I’ve seen so far is a federal codification of Roe v. Wade that would say abortion would be legal everywhere and I would not be for that,” he said.

Paul declined to say whether he supported Kentucky’s abortion ban, saying he’ll wait to see how the court battle plays out.

Related Stories