Kentucky woman challenges state’s abortion ban
Lawyers argue that the bans violate the woman’s right to privacy and self-determination
A Kentucky woman filed a class action lawsuit against the state to restore abortion rights on Tuesday.
The woman’s name was not given in the complaint, and she went by Mary Poe, which is a custom among legal briefs when a plaintiff wants to remain anonymous for whatever reason she or he does. The Louisville woman was seven weeks pregnant at the time of the complaint’s filing. The lawsuit seeks to challenge the six-week ban and the total ban that went into effect after the Dobbs decision. Lawyers contend it violates women’s right to privacy and self-determination under the state’s constitution.
“Without the ability to decide whether to continue a pregnancy, Kentuckians have lost the right to make critical decisions about their health, bodies, lives, and futures,” the complaint reads.
Kentucky doesn’t allow abortions unless to save the life or health of the mother. If a doctor violates that, they face one to five years in prison. Additionally, there is another six-week ban that prevents abortions after cardiac activity. Both laws work in tandem.
It’s a class action, meaning other women in the state can join as plaintiffs. It’s similar to what happened in Zurawski v. Texas, a lawsuit involving 20 women that challenged the state’s abortion ban, which called for 99 years in prison. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the ban.
One of the significant questions in these lawsuits is who has legal standing, which is a concept that determines whether a person is affected enough by a law that they have a right to challenge it. In Texas, they found that abortion-seekers didn’t have standing. But doctors did. In Ohio, it remains to be seen if the reverse is true. Its court system will determine whether providers have legal standing.
It’s a paradox that some states may find that doctors have legal standing while others determine that female patients are the only ones. The question of legal standing is another reason why there needs to be some uniformity of law governing abortions. We need a court to determine who has legal standing and apply that to all cases nationwide.
The ACLU is part of the team of lawyers representing the woman, who was quoted on their website in a news release.
“I am about seven weeks pregnant, and I have decided that ending my pregnancy is the best decision for me and my family. I feel overwhelmed and frustrated that I cannot access abortion care here in my own state, and I have started the difficult process of arranging to get care in another state where it’s legal,” the woman said.
“This involves trying to take time off work and securing child care, all of which place an enormous burden on me. This is my personal decision, a decision I believe should be mine alone, not one made by anyone else. I am bringing this case to ensure that other Kentuckians will not have to go through what I am going through, and instead will be able to get the health care they need in our community.”