A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked a new Kentucky abortion law from being enforced by state officials.
HB 3 went into effect last week after the Kentucky legislature overturned Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of the bill. The bill is modeled after a Mississippi law that is currently under consideration by the US Supreme Court. HB 3 bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, makes it harder for a minor to obtain an abortion, and restricts access to medication abortion. The ban was to take effect immediately.
Planned Parenthood challenged the law. The organization argued that the extensive regulations are a de facto ban on abortion in the state and are therefore unconstitutional. The ACLU and ACLU of Kentucky also filed suit on behalf of Louisville’s EMW Women’s Surgical Center. They argued that Kentucky abortion providers “are at immediate risk of committing felonies or incurring serious fines, civil liability, or revocation of their licenses if they continue to provide abortions.”
The temporary restraining order issued by District Judge Rebecca Jennings went into effect Thursday at 3 PM. It will be in effect for fourteen days to allow Planned Parenthood to “specifically determine which individual provisions and subsections are capable of compliance,” as Planned Parenthood argued that additional time was needed to prepare for enforcement of this new bill.
The restraining order will not last longer than fourteen days unless an extension is granted. However, the CEO of Planned Parenthood, Rebecca Gibron, has said that she will continue to fight for basic health rights in court and do everything in her power to ensure abortion access is available in Kentucky.
Judge Jennings did not rule on the constitutionality of the law and will consider that argument at a hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of HB 3.