The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade Friday, effectively ending the ability for a woman to get an abortion in Kentucky.
The decision triggers Kentucky’s fetal heartbeat law that passed in 2019, requiring any doctor performing an abortion to determine whether a fetus has a “detectable fetal heartbeat.” If one is detected, the woman would not be able to get an abortion.
“If this opinion is the final issued opinion, then Kentucky’s ‘trigger’ law will kick in, which bans all abortion,” said Josh Douglas, an election law and voting rights professor at the University of Kentucky, to LINK nky in May. At that time, court had just leaked a draft opinion that showed the justices heavily leaned toward ending the long-held decision protecting reproductive rights.
“Due to Kentucky’s trigger law, the only two clinics remaining in the Commonwealth will be forced to immediately close,” said Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport). “The women of Kentucky no longer have access to abortion care in this state.”
But Republicans in the Kentucky House said in a statement that today marks a historic moment in protecting our most vulnerable.
“With this ruling in the Dobbs case, the Supreme Court of the United States validates decades of assertions that there is no place in a document that seeks to secure ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for a procedure that serves no purpose other than to end the life of an innocent human being,” a majority caucus statement said.
But Roberts said the decision will only grow the already huge numbers of children living in poverty and foster care.
“It will limit opportunities for women and their families and create greater economic uncertainty,” she said.
Republican Sen. Damon Thayer said the decision is a victory for states’ rights and the unborn.
“Throughout my entire career in the legislature I have always helped give a voice to the voiceless,” Thayer said.
A constitutional amendment could be on the ballot in November that may potentially make it harder for clinics to reopen in the future.
“We are already hearing about bills being crafted to target contraceptives in the next Kentucky General Assembly – the makeup of which may be even more extremist if Kentuckians don’t make their way to the polls in record numbers this November,” Roberts said.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell said the decision is courageous and correct.
“This is an historic victory for the Constitution and for the most vulnerable in our society,” he said.
In April, a Kentucky judge issued a temporary restraining order against House Bill 3, the omnibus abortion bill that passed the Kentucky legislature earlier this year. The bill temporarily halted abortion services in Kentucky in April.
“It is my promise to every person in Kentucky that Planned Parenthood will never back down,” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, and Kentucky. “We will keep fighting with everything we’ve got to ensure that everyone can access the care you need to control your body and your life. I want to be clear: Planned Parenthood will always be here to help you get the care you need.”