Abortion rears its ugly head

In the run-up to the General Election, abortion rudely reentererd public life. Attack ads accused Attorney General (AG) Cameron of being unreasonable and cruel for his strong pro-life record and stand.

Cameron stated he would sign an 'exceptions' bill if the KY Legislature would pass one—which would surprise most pro-lifers. Newly elected AG Russell Coleman said he would support adding a rape-and-incest exception, and would ask the General Assembly to take a hard look at that issue.

On December 8, a legal suit was filed by Plaintiffs ‘Jane Doe’ and Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest— which includes Kentucky and Indiana for funding convenience. They are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kentucky, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Craig Henry PLC, and O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

Cameron, who is named in the suit, has only until December 31 to reply before he steps down, or perhaps Coleman can get an early start. He will find out how much time and talent it takes to litigate with anonymous plaintiffs and nonprofits that are financed by leftist billionaires.

The class-action lawsuit begins:

1. Abortion is a critical component of reproductive healthcare and crucial to the ability of Kentuckians to control their lives. Pregnancy and childbirth impact an individual’s health and well-being, finances, and personal relationships. 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. Pregnant Kentuckians have the right to determine their own futures and make private decisions about their lives and relationships. Access to safe and legal abortion is essential to effectuating those rights.

The legal brief states that two KY pro-life laws must be struck down because they prevent the constitutional rights of the plaintiff to be exercised. The laws are:

1. The Total Ban (‘Trigger’ Law), passed in 2019, which ended abortion if and when Roe v. Wade was overturned by SCOTUS or when states would be once again authorized to prohibit abortion.
2. The Six-Week Ban (‘Heartbeat’ Law), also passed in 2019, which disallows abortion after detection of a heartbeat.

The lawsuit, on page 30 of 52 pages, says:

Yes, fellow Kentuckians, we pay for this litigation (point c) if our Attorney General loses this case. But how can he lose? Numerous statutes and current definitions ensure that the baby in the womb is safe in Kentucky.

• Kentucky's Fetal Homicide Laws specify four types of felonies.
• In Kentucky, Victims have rights.
  KRS 421.500 defines “victim” as an individual directly and proximately harmed as a result of:
  1. The commission of a crime classified as a felony (see above item); a misdemeanor involving threatened or actual physical injury, harassment, or restraint; a misdemeanor involving a child or incompetent person; …
  2. Conduct which, if committed by an adult, would be classified as a felony or a misdemeanor -If the victim is a minor, incapacitated, or deceased, "victim" also means one (1) or more of the victim's spouse, parents, siblings, children, or other lawful representatives which shall be designated by the court unless the person is the defendant or a person the court finds would not act in the best interests of the victim.
• An unborn baby has constitutional rights as a victim. Not all of Section 26A of the KY Constitution would apply, but portions would.
• And what about Current Definitions? These must not be heaved aside to overturn existing laws. Kentucky has defined when life begins, and these definitions undergird our abortion laws:
  • “Conception” means fertilization;
  • (a) “Fertilization” means that point in time when a male human sperm penetrates the zona pellucida of a female human ovum;
  • (b) “Pregnant” means the human female reproductive condition of having a living unborn human being within her body throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth; and
  • (c) “Unborn human being” means an individual living member of the species homo sapiens throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth. [Reference]

We await the AG’s response or brief.

UPDATE

On December 12 the media reported that Jane Doe’s unborn baby no longer has cardiac activity. Her attorneys said the challenge to ‘KY’s near-total abortion ban’ would continue. However, it has since been announced that the suit has been dropped. Watch for further updates.