The flurry of court activities has caused confusion in the states, and left patients and clinics
The flurry of court activities has caused confusion in the states, and left patients and clinics
A judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked the state’s near-total stop abortion On Thursday, clearing the way for the process to restart there, while a judge in Florida said he would block a 15-week abortion ban in that state from taking effect.
The ruling in Kentucky blocks that state’s so-called trigger law, which was designed to take effect after the country’s Supreme Court ruled to end federal constitutional protections for abortion. The case reflects the battle being fought in courts across the country as the Supreme Court left it up to the states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders – to state formation to protect abortion rights groups. To force
In Florida, Judge John C. Cooper said he would temporarily block a 15-week abortion ban from taking effect after a court challenge by reproductive health providers who say the state’s constitution guarantees the right to procedure. Cooper said Florida’s ban “is unconstitutional because it violates the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution.” Some of the state’s controversies involve restrictions that haven’t been applied to the books for generations. Some include trigger laws like Kentucky that were specifically designed to take effect if the cry were to fall. Some ban abortions that were pending until the ruling on Roe and are now going ahead.
The flurry of court activities has created confusion in the States, and abandoned patients and clinics.
In Arizona, the attorney general said Wednesday that a total abortion ban that the state already has on the books could be enforced, though the governor disagreed and called for a new law that bans abortions after 15 weeks. , is given priority. Abortion providers in that state immediately stopped performing the procedure for fear of prosecution.
In Louisiana, that attorney general warned doctors against performing abortions even if the ban there was temporarily blocked.
In Kentucky, Thursday’s decision allowed abortions to resume after abruptly ending last week. About 200 women with scheduled appointments have been turned away from EMW Women’s Surgical Center, one of two Louisville abortion clinics, in recent days, said Heather Guttreck, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.
The ACLU and Planned Parenthood issued a joint statement saying they were pleased that the “brutal abortion ban” was blocked, adding that since last week’s decision, “many Kentuckians have had pregnancies against their will.” or have been forced to flee their home state in search of essentials. Attention. Despite this victory, we know this fight is not over yet.” Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican running for governor, said Thursday’s decision had no basis in the state’s constitution and he intends to challenge it.
“We will do everything we can to continue to defend this law and ensure the protection of unborn lives in the Commonwealth,” he said in a statement.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by abortion clinics this week that said women were being “forced to remain pregnant against their will” in violation of the state’s constitution. He asked the judge to temporarily block the trigger law, along with another Kentucky law, that attempted to prevent abortions at six weeks of pregnancy.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mitch Perry also agreed to temporarily halt the six-week ban. That measure was previously blocked by a federal court.
Kentucky’s trigger measure has a narrow exception that allows a physician to perform a procedure necessary to prevent death or permanent injury to a pregnant woman. It does not allow abortion in cases of rape or incest.
A request to continue abortion services in Kentucky — through the intervention of state courts — could turn into a stopgap effort. Kentuckians will vote in November on a ballot initiative that, if confirmed, will establish that no state constitutional right to abortion exists. Both sides of the abortion debate are busy organizing ahead of the election.