But officials worry that the law will discourage women who need help from reaching out. He also raised doubts about its constitutionality.Ī Planned Parenthood clinic in Louisville has halted abortions pending a ruling from the judge but continues to provide other services, including health screenings, birth control and initial appointments for pregnant women.
Noncompliance can result in stiff fines and felony penalties.īut in his veto, the governor faulted the measure for not making exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest and for the lack of funding to carry out new reporting requirements. And it contains new reporting requirements for providers. It also places strict new conditions on medication abortions, requiring women to be examined by a doctor before receiving abortion pills. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a right to abortion nationwide.Įffective immediately, the new law bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, replacing the state’s previous 20-week limit - a restriction that four other states also have passed. Supreme Court ends up overturning Roe vs. Andy Beshear.Īdvocates say the situation foreshadows what could happen in Republican-leaning states across the country if the U.S. The clinics, both in the state’s largest city of Louisville, say they were forced to halt abortions because officials haven’t written guidelines for complying with the law, which the Republican-dominated Legislature passed a week ago over the veto of Democratic Gov. Frustration is building among abortion rights groups in Kentucky, where a restrictive new law has thrown the state’s only two remaining clinics into limbo.