Kentucky Supreme Court Upholds State Abortion Ban

Kentucky maintained its near-total abortion ban after the state’s highest court ruled in favor of a challenge to an injunction against the law on Feb. 16.
The case before the Kentucky Supreme Court challenged the state’s ban on almost all abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. The court was faced with a narrow legal issue appealed in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which withdrew the federal protection for abortion, after which Kentucky’s “trigger law” banning most abortions took effect.
Justice Debra Lambert said in her judgment that Louisville Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry was incorrect to suspend enforcement of abortion restrictions in July 2022 and that the appeals court was right to reinstate the bans in August 2022. However, she left open the possibility of hearing a future challenge on whether the right to abortion exists by implication under the Kentucky Constitution….}