FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — The ACLU, the ACLU of Kentucky, and Planned Parenthood have filed an appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court for emergency relief after a Court of Appeals allowed two abortion bans to go into effect Monday night — immediately banning abortion in Kentucky.
Kentucky's two abortion bans include a complete abortion ban and a six-week ban.
A Court of Appeals gave Attorney General Daniel Cameron the go ahead Monday to enforce Kentucky's two abortion bans, meaning nearly all abortions stopped immediately.
This case is ultimately heading to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
"Today the Court of Appeals granted our motion to have the Kentucky Human Life Protection Act and the Heartbeat Law reinstated in the Commonwealth," Cameron tweeted Monday.
"I appreciate the court’s decision to allow Kentucky’s pro-life laws to take effect while we continue to vigorously defend the constitutionality of these important protections for women and unborn children across the Commonwealth."
In the lawsuit, EMW Women's Surgical Center v. Daniel Cameron, plaintiffs argue the abortion bans violate women's rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and self-determination.
A statement from leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kentucky, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America on behalf of EMW Women’s Surgical Center and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky:
“The court’s decision to allow politicians to ban abortion eviscerates reproductive freedom in Kentucky. The ban immediately impacts the nearly one million women and people of reproductive age across the commonwealth by stripping them of their right to access basic care–forcing Kentuckians to once again either flee their community to access abortion if they have the resources to do so, or carry a pregnancy and have a child against their will. While yesterday’s ruling is a setback, this fight is far from over. We’ll continue doing everything in our power to restore abortion access in Kentucky as soon as possible.”
View the filing and release on the ACLU-KY website here.
