Kentucky woman seeking abortion files lawsuit over state bans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new class action lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks to strike down Kentucky's bans on abortions, arguing that a woman seeking to terminate her pregnancy and others in similar positions are "suffering medical, constitutional, and irreparable harm."

The lawsuit alleges that the woman, who is using the pseudonym Mary Poe and is about seven weeks pregnant, is seeking to terminate her pregnancy but has been blocked by bans in place in Kentucky. The suit seeks to prevent the defendants — Attorney General Russell Coleman, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander, Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure Executive Director Michael Rodman, and Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers — from enforcing the laws.

The bans have been in place since June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision. Kentucky lawmakers had passed a "trigger ban" during the 2019 General Assembly that immediately outlawed all abortions when that Supreme Court decision was overturned.

A separate ban prohibits abortions before determining whether a fetal heartbeat exists. If embryonic or fetal cardiac activity is detected, this ban makes it a Class D felony to assist in terminating the pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The lawsuit alleges the bans "are an affront to the health and dignity of all Kentuckians," and they violate the rights to privacy and self-determination of Poe and others. It also says the bans disproportionately impact Black people in Kentucky and those with low incomes.

The woman who filed the lawsuit is being represented by attorneys with Kaplan, Johnson, Abate & Bird law firm along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Kentucky.

In a news release, Poe said she believes ending her pregnancy is "the best decision for me and my family," but she is "overwhelmed and frustrated" by the lack of abortion access in Kentucky. She's currently making arrangements for the procedure in another state where abortions are legal, an "enormous" burden while juggling a job and child care.

"This is my personal decision, a decision I believe should be mine alone, not one made by anyone else," Poe said. "I am bringing this case to ensure that other Kentuckians will not have to go through what I am going through, and instead will be able to get the health care they need in our community.”

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Abortion rights supporters, critics react to Kentucky lawsuit

Those who oppose abortion were quick to call the lawsuit "meritless." The Family Foundation, a public policy organization focused on "Biblical values," released a statement Tuesday afternoon criticizing the legal arguments.

"This new legal attack on preborn Kentuckians and their mothers is as meritless as the previous failed challenges," executive director David Walls said in a statement. "The ACLU’s suggestion that the Kentucky Constitution somehow secretly contains a hidden right to terminate the life and stop the beating heart of an unborn human being, despite Kentucky’s clear 150-year pro-life history, is absolutely absurd."

Amber Duke, executive director at the ACLU of Kentucky, said her organization supports Poe and supports the push to "restore abortion access in the commonwealth," noting voters defeated a proposed amendment that would have eliminated the right to abortion from the state constitution in 2022.

"While that victory at the ballot box kept an abortion ban out of the state constitution, this lawsuit, brought by a person actively seeking care, is the next step in overturning the bans currently in place," Duke said in the release. "We hope for an ultimate victory that aligns with the will of the people and overturns these unconstitutional bans.”

Latest lawsuit against abortion restrictions in the U.S.

The suit is the latest legal challenge against abortion restrictions across the U.S. as some Republican-led states have increasingly limited access to abortion-related health care over the past two years. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, at least 14 states have implemented near-total abortion bans.

In August, two Texas women filed federal complaints against hospitals that denied them abortions for ectopic pregnancies. In July, a Kansas woman sued the University of Kansas Health System after the medical center refused to give her an emergency abortion in 2022.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld a lower court's ruling that federal law overrides Idaho's near-total abortion ban in medical emergencies but litigation over the issue is expected to continue.

Other states have worked to enshrine the right to abortion access through state legislation or have passed shield laws to protect patients from other states who travel to get the procedure. Data from the Guttmacher Institute released earlier this year revealed that over 171,000 patients traveled out-of-state to receive abortion care in 2023.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Sudiksha Kochi, and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; Reuters

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach Eleanor McCrary at emccrary@courier-journal.com.