Pregnant woman in Kentucky sues for right to abortion in challenge to state's near-total ban

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit Friday demanding the right to an abortion, the second legal challenge in days to sweeping abortion bans that have taken hold in more than a dozen U.S. states since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.

The suit, filed in state court in Louisville, says Kentucky's near-total prohibition against abortion violates the plaintiff's rights to privacy and self-determination under the state constitution.

The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is about eight weeks pregnant and she wants to have an abortion in Kentucky but cannot legally do so because of the state's ban, the suit said. She is seeking class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion.

“I am a proud Kentuckian, and I love the life and family I have built here," Jane Doe said about the lawsuit. "But I am angry that now that I am pregnant and do not want to be, the government is interfering in my private matters and blocking me from having an abortion. This is my decision — not the government’s or any other person’s,” the plaintiff said in a news release Friday issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups backing her challenge. “I am bringing this lawsuit because I firmly believe that everyone should have the ability to make their own decisions about their pregnancies. I hope this case will restore abortion access in Kentucky, if not for me then for the countless people in the future who deserve the autonomy to decide what is best for themselves and their families.”

"I am incredibly moved by the current stand that Jane Doe is taking,” Amber Duke, the ACLU of Kentucky Executive Director, said. "The ACLU is honored to represent her and the interest of Kentuckians."

Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office said it is reviewing the suit but offered no other comments. Cameron's office has defended the state's anti-abortion laws in other court proceedings.

"Kentuckians have been forced to either travel hundreds of miles or carry pregnancies against their will, resulting in life-altering consequences and serious health risks over the past year. We know Kentuckians support access to legal, safe abortion care without government interference," said Amber Duke, executive director for the ACLU of Kentucky in a statement.

"Really what the ACLU, what Planned Parenthood is arguing is asking for a judge to put their personal ideology over the law. And we certainly hope that that doesn't happen in this case,” David Walls, The Family Foundation Executive Director, said.

Walls told WDRB News the lawsuit is meritless. A previous lawsuit was knocked down by the courts.

"It really is an absurd argument," Walls said. "It's very similar to their previous failed challenge as I said; and look Kentucky's pro-life laws that had been in effect since Roe was overturned have been saving lives and protecting moms almost every day since over a year now."

On Thursday, a judge in Texas gave a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion. The temporary restraining order stops Texas from enforcing the state’s ban on the woman, who is 20 weeks pregnant, and lasts for 14 days. Her attorneys afterward spoke cautiously about any wider impacts, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insisted that the order would not insulate any medical practitioners from civil and criminal liabilities in the state.

However, on Thursday night, Texas Supreme Court paused that order that would allowed the pregnant woman to have an abortion despite the state's ban.

At the press conference on Friday, someone asked Duke if Jane Doe is having a non-viable pregnancy. Duke shared limited details.

"We are very much protecting Jane's privacy in this moment. So, the only information we are able to release is that Jane Doe is a Kentuckian, who is 8-eight weeks pregnant and is seeking access to abortion,” Duke said.

In Kentucky in February, the state Supreme Court refused to halt the state's near-total abortion ban and another outlawing abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. The justices focused on narrow legal issues but didn’t resolve larger constitutional questions about whether access to abortion should be legal in the Bluegrass State.

The ACLU, Planned Parenthood and other activists launched a new assault against those bans in the suit filed Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville.

“These bans have harmed countless Kentuckians since going into effect last year, and we are relieved to be back in court to try to restore abortion access in Kentucky,” Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in the news release.

The lawsuit says Kentucky woman are suffering “medical, constitutional and irreparable harm” by being denied the right to obtain an abortion.

“Abortion is a critical component of reproductive healthcare and crucial to the ability of Kentuckians to control their lives,” the suit says.

“Whether to take on the health risks and responsibilities of pregnancy and parenting is a personal and consequential decision that must be left to the individual to determine for herself without governmental interference,” it added.

Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have denied any constitutional protections for abortion, but abortion rights supporters have made no inroads in the Legislature in chipping away at the state's anti-abortion laws.

The legal challenge revolves around Kentucky’s near-total trigger law ban and a separate six-week ban — both passed by the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature. The trigger law was passed in 2019 and took effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned. It bans abortions except when they’re carried out to save the life of the patient or to prevent disabling injury. It does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

"We are hopeful that ultimately we're going to end up in a place where Kentucky's pro-life laws are upheld, and we hope we certainly hope that's the case for the unborn and for moms,” Walls said.

"We hope for a victory in this case that overturns these bans and aligns with the will of the people,” Duke said.

Jane Doe said in a statement that the decision to file the lawsuit was hers.