LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Judge Mitch Perry ruled to temporary block Kentucky's trigger ban and six-week ban on abortion Friday.
The decision states, "The Plaintiffs have demonstrated at very least a substantial question as to the merits regarding the constitutionality of both the Trigger Ban and the Six Week Ban."
The decision continues, "It is ordered that Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Injunction in granted."
The ACLU and EMW released a joint statement regarding the decision:
“Once again, the courts have rightly stopped Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s relentless efforts to ban abortion, which would have devastating consequences for Kentuckians. No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will or flee the state to access essential health care. Kentuckians have a right to abortion under the state constitution, and we’ll continue fighting for that right so that every person in the commonwealth can get the care they need.”
The two Kentucky abortion clinics filed for an injunction in court July 6 to block the state's near-total ban on the procedure, one of numerous such efforts across the country following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state's abortion ban earlier this month, and the two clinics, both in Louisville, resumed performing abortions. If granted, the injunction would suspend the state law while the case is litigated.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron appealed the restraining order to the state’s appeals courts, but the Kentucky Supreme Court rejected Cameron’s appeal.
Abortion rights advocates have argued that Kentucky’s law banning abortions, set up to take effect immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling, violates the state's constitution.
Dr. Ashlee Bergin, who performs abortions at Louisville’s EMW clinic and was the first witness called by the clinics’ attorneys Wednesday, testified about the many possible health risks of pregnancy. Bergin cited statistics showing that pregnancy can be more dangerous to the health of a mother than abortion.
Vic Maddox, a deputy attorney general, asked Bergin during cross-examination to provide details of abortion procedures, prompting Perry to ask Maddox to “be less graphic.” Maddox also asked Bergin if she considers the fetus to be her patient, along with the mother.
“I don’t view it in those terms,” Bergin responded.
Dr. Jason Lindo, a professor at economics at Texas A&M, was also called to the stand on Wednesday for the clinics. Lindo told the court he specializes in health economics, focusing specifically on youth.
Lindo said Kentucky's abortion ban will have "serious costs for Kentuckians," including creating financial hardships, educational and professional harms and physical and psychiatric harms. He added the ban would disproportionately impact low-income residents and people of color.
In the lawsuit seeking the injunction, attorneys for the clinics argued that women were being “forced to remain pregnant against their will” in violation of the state’s constitution.
The defense then called Dr. Monique Chireau Wubbenhorst, a pro-life OB/YGN.
Wubbenhorst said she doesn't agree with abortion cases of fetal anomalies, rape or incest, but does agree with how Kentucky's trigger law is written to allow abortions if the mother is in danger of dying.
Kentucky’s abortion law contains a narrow exception allowing a physician to perform the procedure if it is deemed necessary to prevent the death or permanent injury of the mother.
Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has denounced the state’s trigger law as “extremist,” noting it lacks exceptions for rape and incest.
Cameron, a Republican who is running for governor, said Tuesday night that he was disappointed Kentucky’s new abortion laws are being delayed.
“We’ve now asked all three levels of Kentucky’s judiciary to allow these laws to take effect," he said in a social media statement. “Not a single judge at any level has suggested these laws are unconstitutional, yet we are unfortunately still prohibited from enforcing them.”
The lawsuit filed by the Kentucky clinics' attorneys is one of numerous such efforts taking place in states that passed similar laws in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this month.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.