A judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of Kentucky’s trigger law that bans all abortions unless the mother’s life is at risk, which allows Kentucky’s two licensed abortion providers to resume the procedure for now.
The law automatically banned abortions in Kentucky after the Supreme Court last week overturned Roe v. Wade, which constitutionally protected a woman’s right to an abortion in the United States.
Louisville Judge Mitch Perry also temporarily blocked enforcement of the state’s fetal heartbeat law, which effectively bans abortions after six weeks.
Kentucky’s two remaining abortion providers — Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Center — along with the ACLU, filed the lawsuit Monday, alleging the trigger law and the heartbeat law violates women’s right to privacy and bodily autonomy.
Perry’s decision will allow the clinics to resume providing abortions until July 6, when the providers will make the case to Perry about why the laws should be permanently blocked.
“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe last Friday, numerous Kentuckians have been forced to carry pregnancies against their will or flee their home state in search of essential care,” the local Planned Parenthood branch said in a statement. “Despite this victory, we know this fight is far from over — especially with politicians like Attorney General Daniel Cameron doing everything they can to score political points at the expense of Kentuckians’ wellbeing. We won’t stop fighting for people’s ability to access the essential abortion care they need in Kentucky. The government should never have the authority to force a person to remain pregnant against their will.”
Attorney General Daniel Cameron released a statement condemning the law’s blockage, saying he will do everything possible to defend the laws.
“In the wake of an historic victory for life at the nation’s highest court, today, one judge in Kentucky has, without basis in the Kentucky Constitution, allowed two clinics to resume abortions,” Cameron said. “We cannot let the same mistake that happened in Roe v. Wade, nearly 50 years ago, to be made again in Kentucky. We will be seeking relief from this order.”
Read the decision below:
Restraining Order by Meghan Goth on Scribd
