Kentucky clinics stop abortions after Supreme Court ruling
Published 7:07 pm Friday, June 24, 2022
Kentucky’s so-called trigger laws means abortion has largely been outlawed in the state upon the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday.
The state’s only two abortion clinics, both in Louisville, halted abortions Friday. The Kentucky law passed in 2019 declares that abortion would become illegal “effective immediately” if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The measure contains a narrow exception allowing a physician to perform a procedure necessary to prevent the death or permanent injury of a pregnant woman.
Kentucky’s governor, Democrat Andy Beshear, said Friday’s Supreme Court ruling “triggers an extremist Kentucky law that creates a total ban in Kentucky that will eliminate all options for victims of rape or incest.”
The state’s attorney general, Republican Daniel Cameron, a candidate for governor, hailed the ruling as “a new era.”
“No longer will unelected judges make abortion policy for the Commonwealth. Instead, our elected representatives will be able to make public policy that reflects the values of Kentuckians and our deeply held respect for unborn life,” Cameron said in a release Friday.
Nicole Erwin, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood, said Friday the Louisville center’s doors remain open for all other reproductive health care.
Erwin said the organization would “work with patients every step of the way,” including financial resources and arranging out-of-state travel for those in need of abortion services.