A Kentucky Democratic lawmaker has filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental “right” to “reproductive freedom,” which he claims includes abortion, contraception, and sterilization, according to KentuckyToday.
House Bill 476, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, would add a new section to the Kentucky Constitution guaranteeing individuals the right to make decisions about “all matters relating to pregnancy,” including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, “abortion care,” miscarriage management, and infertility care.
The bill states that the right to “reproductive freedom” could not be denied or burdened unless justified by a “compelling state interest” achieved by the least restrictive means. It would also prohibit the state from penalizing or prosecuting a woman for obtaining an abortion, or from taking adverse action against someone assisting her in doing so.
Under the proposal, Kentucky could regulate abortion after fetal viability, but it could not prohibit an abortion that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is “medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health” of the pregnant woman.
The point of fetal viability is defined in the bill as the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, there is a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures.
Grossberg said his intention is to restore what he described as the “legal status quo” prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to regulate abortion.
“Women have a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, to seek care from qualified professionals in a safe environment,” Grossberg told KentuckyToday. “But I also don’t believe any right is without limits. For my entire life until 2022, the generally accepted standard was fetal viability.”
The bill was inspired in part by an ongoing legal challenge brought by three Jewish women who argue Kentucky’s abortion bans could affect in vitro fertilization, or IVF, according to KentuckyToday. A Jefferson Circuit Court judge heard arguments in that case in December 2025 and has not yet ruled.
The measure would effectively create an unlimited right to abortion, according to pro-life advocates in Kentucky.
Richard Nelson, executive director of the Commonwealth Policy Center, called the proposal a “hollow gesture,” arguing that exceptions for mental health would allow abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life, told KentuckyToday the amendment would “strip away” protections for unborn children and limit lawmakers’ ability to enact what she described as life-affirming safeguards.
The proposal has been assigned to the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. If approved by lawmakers, the amendment would be submitted to voters for ratification at a future election.