Kentucky state court blocks two state laws that stopped abortion services after Roe ruling
By Veronica Stracqualursi and Rebekah Riess, CNN
A Kentucky state court on Thursday halted enforcement of two Kentucky laws passed in 2019 that had stopped abortion services in the state last Friday, after the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
The two measures are Kentucky’s so-called trigger law and a “heartbeat” law restricting abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy.
The court granted a request for a restraining order filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, its Kentucky chapter and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest. A hearing for the temporary injunction has been scheduled for next Wednesday, according to the ACLU, which brought the case on the behalf of abortion providers.
The plaintiffs argue that the two state laws violate the rights to “privacy, bodily autonomy, and self-determination” in the Kentucky Constitution.
“We’re glad the court recognized the devastation happening in Kentucky and decided to block the commonwealth’s cruel abortion bans,” the groups who sought the restraining order said in a statement. “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.”
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest said later Thursday that it will be able to restart providing abortion care in Kentucky and encouraged patients to call to set up appointments.
EMW Women’s Surgical Center, an abortion provider and plaintiff in the case, plans to resume abortion care Friday, according to the ACLU of Kentucky.
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s Republican attorney general, said the state will continue to defend the law.
Kentucky’s trigger law bans abortions and makes performing them a felony offense, with limited exceptions to prevent the death or serious injury of the person giving birth.
In recent days, abortion-rights proponents have filed court actions in at least seven states, including Kentucky, seeking to block or slow the enforcement of abortion bans since the US Supreme Court’s ruling cleared the way for states to prohibit the procedure.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
