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A federal judge temporarily suspended a state law that eliminated abortions in Kentucky after two clinics in the state said they could not comply with the requirements.
Federal Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings’s ruling is a victory for the defenders of abortion rights and a setback for the Republican-led legislature, which passed the law in March, after overriding Democratic Governor Andy Beshar’s veto of the measure last week.
The two clinics indicated that they would immediately resume services to perform abortions on pregnant women.
The new law prohibits abortion after a week 15 of pregnancy and requires women to be examined by a specialist doctor before receiving abortion pills. Additionally, it contains new restrictions and reporting requirements that Kentucky clinics could not immediately comply with.
Failure to comply can result in heavy fines, felony penalties, and revocation of doctors’ licenses and the facility where abortions are performed.
The judge’s decision did not delve into the broader issue of constitutionality of the new law, but instead focused on the centers’ claims that they cannot meet the average in the short term because the state has not yet established clear guidelines.
The judge said that her order does not prevent the state from making regulations to regard.
Abortion rights activists said they were relieved by the order, but indicated that there are more rounds ahead in the legal fight.
“This is a victory, but it is only the first step”, said Rebecca Gibron , executive director of Planned Parenthood in Kentucky, where her clinic is immediately resuming abortion services.
“We are prepared to fight for the right of our patients to basic health care in court and continue to do everything in our power to ensure that access to abortion is permanently insured in Kentucky”.
For his part, Daniel Cameron , Republican attorney general of Kentucky, said he will be ready to defend the law as the case proceeds.
“We are disappointed that the court decided to temporarily stop the application of the entire law,” he said in a statement. “This law is constitutional and we hope to continue defending it.”
Supporters of the anti-abortion movement say that the goal of the new law in Kentucky is to protect women’s health and strengthen the supervision. While opponents claim that the goal was always to completely stop abortions in the state.
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