FRANKFORT, Ky. (BP) — Gov. Matt Bevin has been honored by the Kentucky Baptist Convention for his leadership in getting laws passed to protect the state’s children, including the unborn.
Paul Chitwood, executive director of the 750,000-member KBC, presented Bevin the “Guardian of Life Award” at a rally in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday (Feb. 8) afternoon.
Last month, Bevin signed two major pro-life bills into law — one that requires women to undergo ultrasounds before having abortions and another that bans late-term abortions.
“To Gov. Bevin, I offer deep appreciation for his leadership and influence that helped bring these bills into law,” Chitwood said. “But in addition to Governor Bevin’s advocacy for life in the womb, we thank God that He has given us a governor to advocate for life in the cradle, the classroom, in a career, and in dignified care until natural death.”
Bevin said Wednesday that some people had questioned whether he should press for pro-life legislation, because, they said, it would be controversial.
“Controversy is sometimes needed to do the right thing,” he told hundreds of people gathered inside the Capitol.
Chitwood also offered his gratitude to the lawmakers who overwhelmingly voted to pass the new laws in the first week of this year’s legislative session.
“On behalf of hundreds of thousands of pro-life Southern Baptists in Kentucky, I say thank you to every member of the House and Senate who voted for these new laws to protect the unborn in Kentucky,” he said.
“And I say thank you to every church and every Kentuckian who has hoped, worked, and prayed for decades for legislation that would curb and hopefully someday eliminate murder of the unborn.”
The late-term abortion bill bans the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which many babies can survive outside the womb.
The ultrasound law, which already faces a court challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union, requires physicians to display the ultrasound images so that expectant mothers can see them. However, they would have the option to avert their eyes.
Chitwood said the Guardian of Life Award recognizes Bevin’s gallant efforts to protect the unborn and his advocacy for the life of every person in the state.
“Our governor is ‘whole-life pro-life,’ welcoming the orphan into his own home and family, and working every day to see that life is better for every Kentuckian,” Chitwood said.
