Campaign advocate for abortion rights makes plea for Kentucky lawmakers to relax abortion ban

A woman who dominated discussion about abortion during Kentucky’s campaign last year has stepped forward again

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A young woman who dominated the discussion about abortion during Kentucky's campaign last year stepped forward again Tuesday to call on lawmakers to relax the state's near-total abortion ban.

Months after revealing the trauma of being raped and impregnated in a powerful campaign ad, Hadley Duvall went to the statehouse to endorse a bill that would add exceptions to the anti-abortion law. The measure would allow abortions when pregnancies are caused by rape or incest, or when pregnancies are deemed nonviable or medical emergencies threaten the mother.

She teamed with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and the bill's lead sponsor to try to generate momentum, but its fate ultimately will be decided by Republican supermajorities in the legislature. The prospects for carving out more exceptions appear to be uncertain as GOP lawmakers wrangle with the issue.

Duvall, now a college senior in her early 20s, became pregnant as a seventh grader but ultimately miscarried. Her stepfather was convicted of rape. She recounted those traumatic events in a Beshear campaign ad attacking his Republican challenger's longstanding support for the abortion ban. The commercial put the GOP candidate, then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron, on the defensive for weeks until the November election, which Beshear won in convincing fashion.

The Associated Press does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Duvall chose to be identified and has spoken out publicly about what she experienced and its connection to the debate over abortion.