FRANKFORT, KY (June 30, 2022) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today released the following statement after a Louisville Circuit Court Judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt Kentucky's Human Life Protection Act as to EMW and Planned Parenthood. The Human Life Protection Act prohibits abortions in the Commonwealth unless the procedure is necessary to protect the life of the mother.
The Attorney General's statement is as follows:
"In the wake of an historic victory for life at the nation's highest court, today, one judge in Kentucky has, without basis in the Kentucky Constitution, allowed two clinics to resume abortions. We cannot let the same mistake that happened in Roe v. Wade, nearly 50 years ago, to be made again in Kentucky. We will be seeking relief from this order.
The U.S. Supreme Court made it abundantly clear in Dobbs that decisions about the protection of life should be decided by the states and the people through their representatives. Our General Assembly clearly expressed Kentucky's support for life by passing the Human Life Protection Act with bipartisan support. We will do everything possible to continue defending this law and to ensure that unborn life is protected in the Commonwealth."
Kentucky's Human Life Protection Act took effect immediately upon the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. The lawsuit against the Human Life Protection Act was filed on Monday by two Kentucky abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood and EMW.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, Attorney General Cameron has taken action to ensure Kentucky's pro-life laws take effect, after many were tied up in court for years. He has asked courts to allow the Commonwealth's heartbeat law (SB 9, 2019); prohibition of discriminatory abortions (HB 5, 2019); prohibition of live dismemberment abortions (HB 454, 2018); and the Humanity in Healthcare Bill (HB 3, 2022) to take effect.
The Attorney General also issued an advisory on the effect and scope of the Human Life Protection Act, which can be accessed HERE.
###
