The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block a Kentucky measure that would ban abortions on the basis of race, gender, or disability status — a law similar to one the Supreme Court is currently considering reviewing.
“Kentucky just passed a ban on abortion based on the reason a person might need one,” the ACLU said on Twitter Wednesday shortly after the Kentucky legislature sent the bill to Kentucky’s Republican governor, Matt Bevin. “The only person who decides whether you need an abortion should be you. We are suing immediately.”
BREAKING: Kentucky just passed a ban on abortion based on the reason a person might need one.
The only person who decides whether you need an abortion should be you. We are suing immediately.
— ACLU (@ACLU) March 13, 2019
The Kentucky bill, HB 5, would ban abortions that are sought on the basis of the fetus’ “sex, race, color, national origin, or disability.” Supporters often refer to the measure as a “eugenics bill.”
Doctors would lose their license if they were to flout the ban. Bevin, who has called himself the “most pro-life governor in America,” is expected to sign it into law.
The Supreme Court is considering hearing a challenge to a law in Indiana that is similar to the Kentucky bill. It would be the first such abortion case to receive a Supreme Court hearing under the new, conservative-leaning makeup of the bench with the additions of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Other bans on abortion are making their way through Kentucky’s legislature in anticipation of a Supreme Court decision that may weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban abortion when a heartbeat can be detected, which is six to eight weeks into a pregnancy. Another bill would outlaw all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, a move that would give states the authority to decide whether abortion will be illegal or legal within their boundaries.
