October 23, 2024
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky appeals court has reinstated a near-total abortion ban that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The ruling means most abortions are illegal in the state, for now.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron asked the court for an emergency stay, which blocked a lower court's ruling. That ruling by a Louisville judge last month put two abortion bans on hold so the courts could determine if they violate Kentucky's constitution.
The ruling will be appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The appeals court said the ban should take effect, even if the laws are in dispute, because in Kentucky, “a statute carries with it the presumption of constitutionality.”
Kentucky's legislature passed a “trigger law" banning nearly all abortions, except when the health of the mother is threatened, if Roe was overturned. Lawmakers also passed a separate 6-week ban that the clinics also challenged.
