Abortion activists at Planned Parenthood and the ACLU absolutely freaked out over Kentucky's two abortion facilities ceasing to perform abortions. They did so after the state legislature overrode a veto from Gov. Andy Beshear on a law that bans most abortions after 15-weeks. It also involves other provisions, including to do with chemical abortions, reporting requirements, and properly disposing of fetal remains with a funeral home through burial or cremation. That these facilities are choosing to no longer perform abortions is because they've chosen to do that, as they can't or won't comply.
That freakout came in the form lawsuits, with Louisville Center Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgery Center filing lawsuits in Kentucky federal court. The EMW Women's Surgery Center is represented by the ACLU. As the lawsuit is pending, abortion is not accessible in Kentucky.
Operation Rescue's Cheryl Sullenger, in a piece for LifeNews.com on Monday, noted that "Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who was appointed to the Federal bench in 2018 by President Donald J. Trump, ordered defendants to submit any response to the motions for TROs no later than noon on April 19, 2022. A ruling on the TRO motions is expected soon after."
We are 12 hours away from that deadline, and that much closer from seeing if the history that was made in Kentucky will be allowed to continue standing. Kentucky is the first state since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade that abortion is not accessible there.
The law, being an emergency measure, went immediately into effect.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal, in covering the veto override, featured comments from both sides of the abortion issue.
Addia Wuchner, executive director of Kentucky Right to Life who was once herself a Kentucky legislator, made an apt point. "There’s no wording in there that would totally restrict or ban abortion," she said.
On the other hand, abortion providers are mentioned as lamenting the law's immediate effective date, which includes getting ahold of forms to file.
Providers said there is no way for them to comply with the law given its immediate effective date. But if you think they'll be willing or able to comply with the law even if they were to have more time, think again.
"They said it would be difficult to comply with the law even long term because some of the information they are required to provide on the forms would violate patient privacy and they don’t think they could find funeral homes who would work with them to dispose of remains," the WSJ noted.
With Roe and 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Casey still the law of the land, for now, it's possible a judge might take that into consideration and rule that Kentucky's law cannot stand, even though its measures would protect not just the unborn, but pregnant women and girls.
For instance, the law also requires that an abortion provider obtain written, notarized consent from a minor's parent before she is to have an abortion. Efforts must also be made to notify the second parent at least 48 hours before that minor is having her abortion.
There are also changes to abortion requirements, including those dangerous chemical abortions, and there are to be annual audits to ensure facilities comply with those reporting requirements.
Again, the law also addresses chemical abortions. This is not only welcome, but crucially necessary. Not only are chemical abortions dangerous, but the Biden administration last December made them even more dangerous when the Food and Drug Administration allowed permanently did away with certain safety regulations, including an in-person visit.
This decision came even after a study was published last November showing ER visits went up 507 percent following a chemical abortion between 2002 and 2015.
Under the Kentucky law, such abortion-causing drugs can only be provided by a qualified licensed physician. Chemical abortions must also be reported within three days of the drugs being dispensed.
A woman first takes mifepristone, which starves her unborn child of nutrients. Then, 24-48 hours later, she takes misoprostol to cause contractions to expel the dead child.
This method carries with it four times the complications of surgical abortions. Side effects and risks associated with this method include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, fever/chills, and headaches. The bleeding may last for weeks after the abortion.
Some studies have found that 10 percent of women face incomplete abortions at 9 weeks gestation. This can lead to death from infection if the remaining fetal parts or tissue are not properly removed.
And, should there be complications, an abortion provider must have local hospital admitting privileges under Kentucky law.
If a judge were to rule in favor of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, though, that judge would be sending a message that women having access to dangerous abortion is more important than them going without abortion access.
I've been writing about the abortion issue for a decade now. When the Supreme Court was deciding Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016, I wrote a piece for Live Action News about the scandal-plagued Whole Woman's Health chain, also linking to another Live Action News piece referencing that EMW Center, which has been described as "filthy."
When asking "Do abortion advocates care more about abortion than about women?," I pointed out how Kentucky had fined the facility, adding some illustrative remarks from the facility's attorney, Scott White, who called it "insulting" to fine them, since abortion is "a legal procedure."
"While abortion is indeed legal, that doesn’t mean the state has no right to regulate the procedure. Just because a court rules in your favor does not mean that you have free reign to stretch the law and put patients at risk," I pointed out.
Sadly, in a 5-3 decision, the Court invalidated that part of Texas' law, despite how that abortion business had a long history of safety violations.
That being said, it's entirely possible that Roe will be partially or completely overturned in a matter of months. The Court heard oral arguments last December in Dobbs v. Jackson, which will decide the constitutionality of Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. While one can never be too sure in predicting what the justices will do, both pro-life and pro-abortion advocates believe that the Court will overturn Roe in at least some way.
Kentucky's attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is a fierce pro-life champion. He can surely be trusted to be a champion for such pro-life laws. Hopefully he'll keep this in mind when it comes to his talking points against the abortion facilities and their allies: they are deciding not to comply.