Abortion is a hot topic in America. On one hand, some pro-abortion rights supporters believe that the right to end a pregnancy is essential for people to “control their lives.” On Friday, December 8, 2023, a pregnant woman in Kentucky went to court demanding her right to an abortion.
This recent lawsuit is the second within a couple of days that has challenged the abortion bans that exist in several U.S. states. According to the pregnant woman’s suit, which was filed in a state court in Louisville, the state’s laws on the prohibition of abortion go against her rights to privacy and self-determination.
The pregnant woman has chosen to remain anonymous in her suit. She’s only identified as Jane Doe. Jane Doe is almost eight weeks pregnant, and she wants to terminate the pregnancy in Kentucky. Unfortunately for her, the state has a ban against abortion.
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Now, the woman has decided to seek class-action status in her challenge against the state of Kentucky. Her suit includes other citizens of the state who are currently pregnant or might be in the future and want to abort it willingly. So far, the woman has several supporters.
The plaintiff released a statement via the American Civil Liberties Union, which is one of the groups sympathetic to her cause. In the statement, she said, “I am a proud Kentuckian and I love the life my family and I have here, but I’m angry that now that I’m pregnant and do not want to be. The government is interfering in my private matters and blocking me from having an abortion. This is my decision, not the government or any other person’s.”
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However, the state has yet to respond clearly to the suit against its abortion laws. Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office said it is reviewing the lawsuit and nothing more. However, there’s some clue as to where the Attorney General’s office stands on the matter. In the past, it has supported the state’s anti-abortion laws.
Just a day before the Kentucky woman filed her case against the state, a Texan Judge ruled in favor of abortion rights. There was a pregnant woman who was 20 weeks pregnant, but she received a fatal diagnosis, and the court granted her permission to get an abortion.
The judge issued a temporary restraining order that protects her from the Texas ban. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pointed out that the order would not protect any doctor or medical staff from any legal action that may arise.
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Also, the pregnant woman in Kentucky has chosen to remain anonymous, and her lawyers commit to protecting her privacy.
Speaking on the lawsuit, Amber Duke, executive director for the ACLU in Kentucky, said, “Everyone should have the right to make decisions privately and make decisions for their own families.” Kentucky’s Supreme Court has earlier upheld the state’s near-total abortion ban and made it illegal to have an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The lawsuit says, “Abortion is a critical component of reproductive healthcare and crucial to the ability of Kentuckians to control their lives. Whether to take on the health risks and responsibilities of pregnancy and parenting is a personal and consequential decision that must be left to the individual to determine for herself without governmental interference.”
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