The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to halt an 11-week abortion ban enacted in Kentucky.
The law signed Tuesday by Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin would ban the common abortion method called dilation and evacuation after 11 weeks of pregnancy. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Kentucky abortion providers, said the law imposes serious harm for women’s health.
“For many patients, the procedure being banned is the safest and most appropriate,” ACLU of Kentucky said. “The law is forcing doctors to stop providing it and forcing patients either to leave the state to obtain it or to forego the care altogether.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, seeks to stop enforcement of the law.
It follows a similar lawsuit recently filed by Mississippi’s last abortion clinic against the state for a ban on abortions after 15 weeks.
Dilation and evacuation is the most common surgical technique for second-trimester abortions, according to a 2017 report from the abortion rights group Guttmacher Institute.
“Eleven percent of abortions in the United States take place after the first trimester, and national estimates suggest that [dilation and evacuation] accounts for roughly 9 percent of these procedures,” the report said.
Bevin’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
