High court lets Ky. abortion law stand
ACLU calls ultrasound requirement unethical
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal of a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show and describe fetal images to patients before abortions, as well as play an audible heartbeat of the fetus.
The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the 2017 law after it was struck down as a violation of the constitutional right to free speech. The refusal leaves the law in place.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law on behalf of Kentucky’s lone abortion clinic, EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville. The ACLU argued that the law has no medical basis and that its sole purpose is to shame and coerce a woman who has decided to end her pregnancy.
“By refusing to review the 6th Circuit’s ruling, the Supreme Court has rubberstamped extreme political interference in the doctor-patient relationship,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “This law is not only unconstitutional but, as leading medical experts and ethicists explained, deeply unethical.”
The Supreme Court has a 5-4 conservative majority, which could affect abortion cases. Republican-sponsored measures to limit abortion have been enacted in a number of states.
Monday’s decision marked a win on the last day in office for Gov. Matt Bevin, an anti-abortion Republican who defended the law after it was struck down by District Judge David Hale. Bevin’s general counsel argued that the law was meant to protect women who might regret abortions or might not fully understand the procedure.
In April, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law on a 2-1 vote. Judge John Bush, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said the law provided “relevant information.”