New Kentucky governor ad features rape victim criticizing GOP on abortion exceptions

Abortion has become a focal point in Kentucky’s race for governor less than two months before Election Day — and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s latest salvo paints his GOP opponent as too conservative on abortion for deep-red Kentucky.

Beshear, who’s running for a second term, is out with a TV ad featuring a young sexual abuse survivor who speaks directly to the camera about her experience.

She directly addresses state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican running against Beshear.

“Anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes,” the woman says.

She adds, “This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.”

Just this week, Cameron has moderated his position on the issue, saying that he does support exceptions for abortion in cases of rape and incest in Kentucky.

“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,” he told a local radio show on Monday.

Both ads reference the fact that Kentucky’s current abortion law, which went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, does not include exceptions for rape and incest. It’s a law that Cameron has backed and defended from legal challenges.

“Our law has gone into effect now, and I think this a day and a cause for celebration,” Cameron said in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.

It’s the second ad Beshear’s campaign has run regarding abortion.

The first features a county prosecutor telling viewers, “When a woman or girl becomes pregnant from rape, the trauma is unimaginable. Daniel Cameron thinks a nine-year-old rape survivor should be forced to give birth.”