Abortion in Kentucky is still legal after the Kentucky Supreme Court denied Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s emergency motion to dismiss a temporary injunction from Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry, blocking the 2019 fetal heartbeat law and 2022’s omnibus abortion law.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to continue delaying enforcement of Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law is disappointing,” Cameron said in a series of Tweets.
In denying Cameron’s motion, Chief Justice John Minton wrote that the court denies the motion but “expresses no opinion on the substantive issues on the matter.”
Perry blocked enforcement of Kentucky’s fetal heartbeat trigger ban on June 30, which allowed abortion services to continue in Kentucky. The 2019 law was triggered after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 23.
The ACLU and the two remaining abortion providers, Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Center, filed a lawsuit on June 30, saying the two abortion bans in Kentucky violate women’s rights to privacy and bodily autonomy.
The providers are making their case to Perry Wednesday about why the laws banning abortion should be permanently blocked. It’s unclear when a decision on the case will be made.
“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 after the initial block. “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.”