Current:Home > InvestKentucky high court upholds state abortion bans while case continues-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Kentucky high court upholds state abortion bans while case continues
View Date:2024-12-23 18:57:07
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that the state's near-total bans on abortion will remain in place while a lawsuit over the matter continues. The bans include a six-week ban and a trigger law, which have been in place since August of last year.
The decision has been closely watched as it comes just months after voters weighed in on the issue of abortion rights and signaled support for abortion rights at the ballot box.
"Lives will be saved while these laws remain in effect, and we hope and pray the lower courts will respect Kentuckians' will and base their decisions in this case on the Constitution and rule of law," Sue Liebel, midwest regional director of the Susan B. Anthony List, a national anti-abortion-rights group, said after Thursday's decision.
Abortion-rights groups decried the ruling.
"This unconscionable decision is a slap in the face to Kentucky voters, who only three months ago rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed a permanent ban on abortion in their state," said NARAL President Mini Timmaraju.
The two state laws – a ban on nearly all abortions in Kentucky and a ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy – were allowed to take effect last year following the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
Both laws were passed in 2019, as part of a years-long effort by mostly Republican lawmakers in multiple states to restrict the procedure as much as possible. They put in place layers of restrictions that could take effect in the event that Roe v. Wade was either partially or, as in Dobbs, fully overturned.
Kentucky's two remaining clinics, Planned Parenthood and EMW Women's Surgical Center, were forced to stop providing abortions in early August. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged both bans, prompting a chain of litigation that culminated with arguments before the Kentucky Supreme Court in November.
The oral arguments took place just days after voters rejected Amendment 2, which would have amended the state constitution to state explicitly that there is no right to an abortion.
Kentucky was among several states where residents voted to support abortion rights last year following the Dobbs decision.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, defended the two bans during oral arguments, saying the state legislature — not the courts — has the right to regulate abortion. The ACLU argued that the laws violate multiple rights guaranteed by Kentucky's state constitution, among them the "right of seeking and pursuing their safety and happiness" and freedom from "absolute and arbitrary power."
As Kentucky Public Radio has reported, the state's seven-person high court now has a new chief justice and two new members, adding to the uncertainty around how the newly constituted court might rule.
After the Dobbs decision, abortion rights groups in several states with pre-existing abortion bans known as "trigger laws" filed lawsuits challenging them in state court. In Louisiana, for example, reproductive rights lawyers persuaded a judge to block abortion restrictions, winning clinics in the state a temporary reprieve before a state judge ultimately allowed them take effect, prohibiting nearly all abortions.
About a dozen states have banned most or all abortions, according to data kept by the Center for Reproductive Rights; laws in several other states including Ohio and Indiana are tied up in ongoing litigation.
veryGood! (496)
Related
- Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
- Pilots flying tourists over national parks face new rules. None are stricter than at Mount Rushmore
- Shooting at home in Washington state kills 5 including the suspected shooter, report says
- Fire blamed on e-bike battery kills 1, injures 6 in Bronx apartment building
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2023
- Spotify axes 17% of workforce in third round of layoffs this year
- Alaska Airlines to buy Hawaiian Airlines in $1.9 billion deal
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ends 2024 Republican presidential bid days before the fourth debate
Ranking
- Judge extends the time to indict the driver accused of killing Johnny Gaudreau and his brother
- Jim Leyland, who guided Marlins to first World Series title, elected to Hall of Fame
- Father of slain 6-year-old Palestinian American boy files wrongful death lawsuit
- Divers have found wreckage, remains from Osprey aircraft that crashed off Japan, US Air Force says
- 5-year-old boy who went missing while parent was napping is found dead near Oregon home, officials say
- Deebo Samuel backs up trash talk with dominant outing in 49ers' romp against Eagles
- Full transcript of Face the Nation, Dec. 3, 2023
- Queen Bey's 'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' reigns at the box office with $21M opening
Recommendation
-
NFL power rankings Week 11: Steelers, Eagles enjoying stealthy rises
-
Economists predict US inflation will keep cooling and the economy can avoid a recession
-
Will Mary Cosby Return for Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5? She Says...
-
Winners, losers from 49ers' blowout win against Eagles: Cowboys, Lions get big boost
-
Lala Kent Swears by This Virgo-Approved Accessory and Shares Why Stassi Schroeder Inspires Her Fall Style
-
Paris stabbing attack which leaves 1 dead investigated as terrorism; suspect arrested
-
Kate Spade Flash Deal: This $249 Tinsel Crossbody Is on Sale for Just $59 and It Comes in 4 Colors
-
The World Food Program will end its main assistance program in Syria in January, affecting millions