Kentucky Supreme Court issues decision on temporary injunction in abortion ban case

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT/AP) - The Kentucky Supreme Court has issued a decision related to the trigger law that banned most abortions in the Commonwealth.

The decision keeps Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban intact while sending part of the case back to lower court.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court said the circuit court was wrong to issue a temporary injunction to block the abortion ban and allow abortions while the case plays out. The Supreme Court also said the Court of Appeals was correct to reverse the injunction and to let the abortion ban take effect while the case plays out.

“We affirm the Court of Appeals’ holding that the circuit court abused its discretion by granting the abortion providers’ motion for a temporary injunction,” Justice Lambert wrote in the court’s opinion.

Passed in 2019, Kentucky’s trigger law banned abortions after a heartbeat was detected and after six weeks of pregnancy. The law went into effect in June after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

A temporary injunction was then put in place against the law while the court battle about it played out.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case back in November.

An attorney with the Attorney General’s Office argued there is already no right to abortion in the constitution because it isn’t mentioned. Attorneys for a Louisville women’s clinic and the ACLU say Kentucky’s trigger law is hurting access to women and health care.

The case is now being sent back to the original circuit court for further consideration of constitutional issues related to one of the bans.

Copyright 2022 WKYT. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.