Changing positions, Cameron says he would sign legislation to add rape and incest exceptions to Ky.'s near-total ban on abortion

By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern

Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron said Monday that he would sign legislation allowing exceptions to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban in cases of rape and incest — a departure from his past statements about the law.

“If our legislature was to bring legislation before me that provided exceptions for rape and incest, I would sign that legislation. There’s no question about that,” Cameron said on the "Tony & Dwight" show on WHAS Radio.

Daniel Cameron (File photo)

It’s the first time Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, has publicly expressed support for adding any exceptions to the abortion ban.

During a Republican primary debate in Louisville, Cameron was among candidates who signaled support for the law that bans abortions up to six weeks of pregnancy. Another law bans all abortions except in cases of threat to the woman's life. The laws took effect last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that created a constitutional right to abortion.

The attorney general’s website says: “General Cameron is a fearless advocate for the unborn because every life is worth protecting. Inside the courtroom and outside of it, Daniel Cameron is the tip of the spear in the fight to preserve a pro-life Kentucky.”

A spokesperson for the Beshear campaign, Alex Floyd, issued this statement: “Throughout his time in office, even before this campaign began, Daniel Cameron has made it clear that he supports Kentucky’s extreme abortion ban with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. He has repeated that position in public statements, questionnaires, press interviews, and debates. As attorney general, Cameron repeatedly defended this extreme law with its lack of exceptions in front of multiple courts, including the Kentucky Supreme Court. Either recent polling numbers have changed Cameron’s core beliefs, or he is lying to Kentuckians now that he is seven weeks from an election.”

Also on the radio show, Cameron pushed back at a Behsear attack ad that faults Cameron’s previous stance on abortion. The TV spot features a Jefferson County prosecutor who claims Cameron believes nine-year-old rape victims “should be forced to give birth.” Cameron said the ad was part of a “smear campaign.”

Nine was the age of the two youngest abortion recipients in Kentucky in 2021 and 2022. In 2021 in Kentucky, 34 girls ages 15 or younger received abortions,

Beshear generally favors abortion rights but says the ban should have exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. In a December interview with the Kentucky Lantern, he said the Republican-dominated General Assembly had “given rapists more rights than their victims.”

Republican  Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville filed a bill in the last legislative session to put rape and incest exceptions in the law. The bill was never assigned to a committee in the House, where he is majority whip, or assistant floor leader.

A spokesperson for the Beshear campaign said of Cameron’s latest comments.“Either recent polling numbers have changed Cameron’s core beliefs, or he is lying to Kentuckians now that he is seven weeks from an election.”

The WHAS interview also touched on Cameron's response to a Northern Kentucky Right to Life questionnaire earlier this year, to which he said “yes” to all questions including: “Will you actively support (and if in a position to do so, sponsor and vote for) legislation which prohibits all use of local, state, federal, and/or Medicare or Medicaid funds for abortion (including chemical abortions, such as RU-486, or the so-called “morning after pill,” Norplant, Depo Provera, or the so-called “standard birth control pill”)?”

Cameron said on the radio he supports birth control and contraception and wrote off the idea of him not supporting either as “completely absurd.”