Attorneys for Kentucky woman suing to have abortion drop the case

Attorneys for a Kentucky woman who sued to demand the right to an abortion said Monday that they dropped the lawsuit after the woman discovered her embryo no longer had any cardiac activity. 

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood who were representing plaintiff Jane Doe encouraged others in Kentucky who are currently pregnant and seeking an abortion to reach out if they are interested in bringing a case. 

The suit, filed Dec. 8, was seeking class-action status on behalf of Jane Doe and all Kentuckians who are pregnant or may become pregnant and can’t legally access abortions because of the state’s laws. 

The attorneys cited a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling February that found the state’s two abortion clinics did not have standing to challenge the ban on behalf of their patients. As a result, future lawsuits will have to be brought by patients themselves. 

“The Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to take away health care providers’ ability to raise the rights of their patients has backed Kentuckians into a corner,” the attorneys said in a statement.   

“The court’s decision has forced Kentuckians seeking abortion to bring a lawsuit while in the middle of seeking time-sensitive health care, a daunting feat, and one that should not be necessary to reclaim the fundamental right to control their own bodies.” 

The Kentucky case was similar to a legal battle in Texas, where Kate Cox, a pregnant woman with severe medical complications, attempted to challenge one of the country’s most restrictive abortion bans. Cox ultimately lost the case but fled the state before the Texas Supreme Court ruled against her. 

Last week, just a few days after the suit was filed, lawyers sent notice that Jane Doe’s embryo had no cardiac activity. 

Kentucky has two overlapping abortion bans, rendering the procedure illegal in almost every circumstance. 

The state’s “trigger” law banning all abortion was passed in 2019 and took effect last year when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It bans all abortions except when they’re carried out to save the life of the patient. It does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest or severe fetal anomalies. 

The state also has a six-week “heartbeat” law in effect, which bans abortion after detection of fetal cardiac activity. The six-week ban also contains no exceptions for rape or incest, only for saving the life of the pregnant patient. 

Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have denied constitutional protections for abortion, but there’s been no progress in the Legislature or courts to loosen the laws.