Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed on Tuesday a bill that would make it mandatory for a woman seeking abortion to receive medical information at least 24 hours before the procedure.
The information must be delivered either during in-person, face-to-face meeting or via a real-time video conference, according to Senate Bill 4.
"The overwhelming support for Senate Bill 4 in the Kentucky legislature is a positive step toward protecting the emotional and physical health and safety of women," said Bevin, according to LifeSite News.
Currently, recorded telephone messages are used to provide information to women seeking abortion.
Republican state Sen. Juli Raque Adams, the lead sponsor of the bill, said in-person consultations before the procedure are standard medical practice, "and Kentucky women deserve no less."
This is the state's first pro-life law in 12 years.
Democrat Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones supported that bill, saying it was "not Democrat or Republican; it's right or wrong."
Bevin earlier granted Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis a waiver to remove her name from marriage licences issued to same-sex couples.
Republican State Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer was quoted by media as saying "It just goes to show that elections have consequences."
"We have worked for over a decade to correct the obviously flawed interpretation and enforcement of the original bill that we passed in 1998," said Margie Montgomery, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life Association.
Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said "Kentucky is blessed to have a governor who leads by serving."
"Governor Bevin's immediate action to sign the new informed consent for abortion law is a great act of service –– not only to pregnant mothers, but also the state as a whole," he said.
Bevin shut down a Planned Parenthood facility in Louisville last week for performing abortions without a licence.
The new law is "just one more barrier and one more burden to what is the constitutional right of women," said Betty Cockrum, head of the regional Planned Parenthood.
