KY Supreme Court justices hear abortion arguments

FRANKFORT, Ky. – All eyes were on Frankfort Tuesday morning while the Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments about temporarily pausing the state’s abortion ban.

One week after Kentuckians voted no on Amendment 2, Supreme Court justices gathered at the state capitol while attorneys debated whether two state laws that all but outlaw abortion should be suspended again until a case challenging their legality comes to pass.

Oral arguments began while protesters gathered outside the capitol chanting ‘No means no.’

Inside the courtroom, the Republican Attorney General’s office argued there is already no right to an abortion mentioned within the state constitution.

“The court is going to read an implicit right to abortion, and you have got to have historical evidence, and there’s none at all from our constitutional debates,” argued an attorney defending the abortion ban.

​​​​​Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth Tabor Hughes responded, “First of all, I think everyone would agree that history reflects there were no women. There were no women in the 1890 constitution.”

Pro-life attorneys also insisted state legislators can eventually reconvene if they wanted to and vote to allow abortions for rape and incest.

Pro-choice attorneys, including the American Civil Liberties Union, who represented Planned Parenthood, insisted the Commonwealth’s near-total trigger ban prevents women from receiving health care.

“This is not what moral ethical healthcare looks like for our patients,” insisted the pro-abortion attorney. “We cannot wait to call the attorney for the hospital when we have a patient in need…. Doctors are supposed to treat their patients holistically and with an eye towards the patient’s needs, interests self-determination through that time, and they are currently unable to do so while these laws are not enjoined.”

Those attorneys also said Kentucky’s vote against Amendment 2 should impact the Supreme Court’s decision.

No indication yet on what timeframe we should expect to receive an answer.

News 40 will keep you updated on the latest developments.