ACLU, Planned Parenthood file lawsuit challenging abortion bans in Ky. court

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Several Kentucky providers have filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court seeking to block two abortion bans within the commonwealth.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Kentucky and Planned Parenthood announced the lawsuit on Monday, filing a complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief against Kentucky’s “trigger ban,” effectively banning abortions and prohibiting drugs with the “intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being.”

According to the complaint, the groups state pregnancy has significant medical and personal consequences and that legal abortions are safe and essential healthcare.

The groups said the lack of access to abortion within the commonwealth would harm pregnant Kentuckians and their families, stating the women forced to undergo pregnancies are “forced to take on the health risks, physical burdens, and other life-altering consequences.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision to take away a right we have relied on for 50 years has caused devastation in Kentucky and across the country,” Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project said in a release. “We hope the court blocks Kentucky’s abortion bans to prevent the life-altering harm they are causing.”

According to the ACLU of Kentucky, the ban on abortions in Kentucky disproportionately harms people of color, young people, immigrants, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ communities, among others.

“Last week’s opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court put the health and safety of Kentuckians at risk, as well as the fundamental human right to control one’s own bodily autonomy and medical decisions without political interference,” Rebecca Gibron, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky said in a release. “Planned Parenthood will continue, as we always have, to stand for our patients and providers. Now, more than ever.”

A hearing has not yet been scheduled for the case.

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