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The Kentucky Supreme Court has denied the state attorney general’s emergency appeal to have a near-total abortion ban reinstated after it was blocked by a circuit court judge last week.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, it triggered a Kentucky law, the Human Life Protection Act, that bans all abortions except any performed to save a mother’s life or prevent her serious injury.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of abortion providers in Kentucky, claiming the abortion law in the state “unconstitutionally forces women to remain pregnant against their will.”
“Last week, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry issued a temporary restraining order on the law and another law that blocks abortions after six weeks. Since then, abortions have continued in the state,” Fox News reported.
On Saturday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied Kentucky GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s request to stay the decision.
“The [state] Supreme Court’s decision to continue delaying enforcement of Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law is disappointing,” Cameron said Tuesday. “We will not be deterred in defending these important laws, and our team will make a strong case tomorrow in Jefferson Circuit Court to have the laws reinstated.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to continue delaying enforcement of Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law is disappointing. (1/3)
— Attorney General Daniel Cameron (@kyoag) July 6, 2022
We will not be deterred in defending these important laws, and our team will make a strong case tomorrow in Jefferson Circuit Court to have the laws reinstated. (3/3)
— Attorney General Daniel Cameron (@kyoag) July 6, 2022
The circuit court will have a hearing on the lawsuit on Wednesday.
Kentucky Supreme Court denies state AG's request to have abortion ban reinstatedhttps://t.co/lgoXlCquwT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 6, 2022
Courts across the country have been flooded with lawsuits since Roe v Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion, was overturned.
Earlier this week, a Florida judge temporarily blocked a new 15-week abortion ban days after it took effect in the state. A state appeal means the court’s order has automatically been stayed, keeping the law in place for the time being.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office said in a statement that they are “disappointed” with Cooper’s ruling but were confident that the law will remain in place.
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court nixed a lower court decision and allowed the state’s new abortion laws to take effect.
The court allowed the 1925 state ban on abortion to take effect in a ruling delivered late on Friday night.
“Pro-life victory! Thanks to my appeal, SCOTX has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water. Our state’s pre-Roe statutes banning abortion in Texas are 100% good law. Litigation continues, but I’ll keep winning for Texas’s unborn babies,” the Texas attorney general said in a tweet on Saturday.
Pro-life victory! Thanks to my appeal, SCOTX has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water. Our state’s pre-Roe statutes banning abortion in Texas are 100% good law. Litigation continues, but I’ll keep winning for Texas’s unborn babies. pic.twitter.com/xgQuDtEXQu
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 2, 2022
The state will continue to argue the case in the district court on July 12 against the American Civil Liberties Union and the lifting of the ban does not allow for criminal enforcement immediately.
Late last month, the Iowa Supreme Court overruled a 2018 decision and held that abortion is not protected by the state’s constitution.
In a fractured decision that reverses a lower court’s decision to block a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, the court said the previous ruling that established a constitutional right to an abortion insufficiently recognizes that future human lives are at stake.
“The ruling sends a case challenging a 2020 law that put in place a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion back to a lower court to reevaluate. It also suggested that a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected soon, would further decide the landscape of abortion in Iowa and across the U.S.,” the report added.
Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds celebrated the Iowa Supreme Court decision in a statement.
“Today’s ruling is a significant victory in our fight to protect the unborn. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed its earlier 2018 decision, which made Iowa the most abortion-friendly state in the country,” Reynolds said. “Every life is sacred and should be protected, and as long as I’m governor that is exactly what I will do.”
Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds Condemns Abortion: “People, No Matter How Small, Have a Right to Life” https://t.co/jmJjrIKvdc pic.twitter.com/KBA6G0Cxhp
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) March 27, 2022
Judges in Utah and Louisiana have also temporarily blocked trigger laws after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
