Kentucky abortion clinics in limbo after new law's passage
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Frustration is building among abortion rights groups in Kentucky, where a restrictive new law has thrown the state's only two remaining clinics into limbo.
The clinics, both in the state's largest city of Louisville, say they were forced to halt abortions because officials haven't had time to write guidelines for complying with the law, which the Republican-dominated legislature passed a week ago over the veto of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Advocates say the situation foreshadows what could happen in Republican-leaning states across the country if the U.S. Supreme Court ends up overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a right to abortion nationwide.
Effective immediately, the new law bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, replacing the state’s previous 20-week limit — a restriction that four other states also have passed.
It also places strict new conditions on medication abortions, requiring women to be examined by a doctor before receiving abortion pills. And it contains new reporting requirements for providers. Noncompliance can result in stiff fines and felony penalties.
Attorneys for the clinics have filed federal lawsuits seeking to overturn the law. In the meantime, women in Kentucky are being forced to either travel out of state to end their pregnancies or wait for a judge's decision on whether to temporarily block the law while the case is litigated. Many of the women affected are young and poor, advocates say.
“The mood is one of anger and frustration,” said Meg Sasse Stern, abortion fund director with Kentucky Health Justice Network, a statewide reproductive justice group. “These people know what they need. They knew as soon as they made their decision. And they know they should be able to get this...
