The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled Thursday that near-total abortion bans in that state will remain in effect while a lawsuit continues over the matter.
The two state rules that restrict the right to abortion They are Kentucky’s so-called trigger law that prohibits abortion (a restriction that went into effect as soon as Roe v. Wade was struck down) and a separate “heartbeat” law that restricts abortions around six weeks of pregnancy and that have been in force since August of last year.
The court’s decision has been closely watched, as it comes just months after voters weighed in on the issue of abortion rights and signaled their support for it at the polls, according to NPR.
Planned Parenthood, along with an abortion provider represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Kentucky, filed a lawsuit to block Kentucky’s sweeping abortion laws after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year.
Two lawsuits have been filed challenging the two statutes, which effectively prohibit abortions in Kentucky except in limited circumstances where it is necessary to preserve the life of the mother and which they caused a chain of litigation that culminated in arguments before the Kentucky Supreme Court in November.
Oral arguments took place just days after voters rejected Amendment 2, which would have amended the state constitution to explicitly state that there is no right to abortion.
The near-total abortion bans in place make Kentucky one of 13 states that have banned or severely restricted abortion.
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU expressed disappointment in the ruling in a statement, but said “this fight is not over.”
“Once again, the Kentucky Supreme Court failed to protect the health and safety of nearly one million people in the state by refusing to reinstate the lower court’s order that blocked the law,” the statement said.
The statement added: “Even after Kentuckians overwhelmingly voted against an anti-abortion ballot measure, abortion remains prohibited in the state. We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision, but we will never give up the fight to restore bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom in Kentucky.”
Source: La Opinion
