A judge has temporarily blocked two Kentucky laws that would effectively ban abortion in nearly all circumstances, claiming the idea that life begins at conception is a “distinctly Christian” view, and that the notion that a disproportionate number of abortions occurs among black women is suggestive of eugenics is “baseless.”
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry sided with the abortion providers Friday, granting them a temporary injunction against the state enforcing its Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law, referring to the measures as the Trigger Ban and Six-Week Ban, respectively.
Perry’s ruling comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court held in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.
Perry stated in his opinion:
Plaintiffs assert, and this Court agrees, that abortion is a form of healthcare. It is provided by licensed medical professionals in licensed medical facilities, just like many other medical procedures. As such, the denial of this healthcare procedure is detrimental to the public interest.
In his ruling, Perry cited the testimony of “Dr. Lindo,” who apparently “noted that the burden of abortion bans falls hardest on poorer and disadvantaged members of society.”
“By contrast the Defendants presented a baseless claim that the Plaintiffs are essentially advocating for eugenics and fewer minorities in Kentucky,” the judge stated. “This is a tired and repeatedly discredited claim. It has no legal basis, and the Court disregards it as such.”
Perry went on to assert the abortionists “have established significant doubt as to the constitutionality of the laws at issue.”
“The Trigger Ban is an arguably unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority, not just to a different branch of government, but to a different jurisdictional body entirely,” he wrote, suggesting the law is likely in violation of the Kentucky Constitution.
Stating also that the Kentucky Constitution “protects both the free exercise of religion and prohibits the establishment of a state religion,” Perry wrote “the Six-Week Ban infringes upon those rights as well, but primarily upon the prohibition on the establishment of religion.”
Perry cited that witnesses for the state are advocating for “fetal personhood,” and “argue that life begins at the moment of fertilization and as such is entitled to full constitutional protection at that point.”
“However, this is a distinctly Christian and Catholic belief,” the judge said. “The General Assembly is not permitted to single out and endorse the doctrine of a favored faith for preferred treatment.”
My statement on today’s Jefferson Circuit Court ruling that continues halting Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat law: pic.twitter.com/d6n1fMXPuI
— Attorney General Daniel Cameron (@kyoag51) July 22, 2022
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a statement the judge’s decision is “disappointing, and we will seek appellate relief.”
“The Judge’s suggestion that Kentucky’s Constitution contains a right to abortion is not grounded in the text and history of our state’s governing document,” the attorney general added. “We will continue our steadfast defense of these bipartisan laws that represent the Commonwealth’s commitment to the lives of the unborn.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mitch Perry” by jeffersoncircuitcourt.com.
