A Kentucky judge reinstituted the state’s near-total abortion ban Monday, reversing a lower court’s order from less than two weeks ago that temporarily allowed the procedures to continue in the state.
Kentucky judge revives state abortion ban, reversing lower-court order
The order came in response to a request by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) that the appellate court overturn a July 22 decision by Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry, who had sided with abortion providers.
Last month, Perry had granted an injunction preventing Kentucky’s abortion ban from taking effect after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June. Perry sided with two abortion clinics that said the bans were unconstitutional because they went against the rights to privacy and self-determination enshrined in the state constitution.
In his ruling, Perry reasoned there was a “substantial likelihood” that the bans were unconstitutional in Kentucky and blocked the abortion restrictions from taking effect until a final decision on their constitutionality could be made by state courts.
But Thompson overruled Perry, on grounds that allowing abortions to proceed — even temporarily — is unfair because the procedures would be irreversible, should state courts later rule the abortion restrictions to be constitutional. “The Court emphasizes, however, that it expresses no opinion whatsoever as to the merits of the underlying dispute,” he added.
Cameron welcomed Thompson’s ruling. “I appreciate the court’s decision to allow Kentucky’s pro-life laws to take effect while we continue to vigorously defend the constitutionality of these important protections for women and unborn children,” Kentucky’s attorney general said.
Cameron is ultimately seeking the state Supreme Court’s permission to let the Human Life Protection Act, which bans abortions with almost no exceptions, and the Heartbeat Law, which bans abortions after about six weeks into pregnancy, be enforced as he litigates against abortion rights advocates who say the bans go against Kentucky’s constitution.
Cameron is running for governor and has been endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky — one of the two reproductive health clinics that are petitioning courts to rescind Kentucky’s abortion bans — said it will help residents find abortion options outside the state.
Outside of Kentucky, court battles over abortion are proceeding in Michigan, Louisiana, North Dakota and Wyoming, among other states, according to The Washington Post’s tracker.
Source: WP
