ACLU files lawsuit against Kentucky abortion ultrasound law News
ACLU files lawsuit against Kentucky abortion ultrasound law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky [official website] Monday challenging new abortion requirements. The filing challenges House Bill 2 [materials], a law requiring an ultrasound be performed before an abortion may be undertaken, which passed early in the legislative session [JURIST report]. HB 2 leaves no exception for cases of rape or incest. The ACLU alleges [press release] that the law is “nearly identical” to a North Carolina law struck down [JURIST report] in a unanimous Fourth Circuit decision [document, PDF] 2014. Plaintiffs in the case include three physicians and an outpatient abortion facility.

Reproductive rights [JURIST backgrounder] are facing increasing scrutiny as conservatives take over legislatures at the state and national levels. However, federal courts have struck down some laws that limit access to abortions. In June the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that a Texas Law burdened a woman’s access to an abortion so greatly it violated the Fourteenth Amendment [text] pursuant to the court’s analysis in Planned Parenthood v. Casey [text].