UPDATED JUNE 21 2023

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 20, 2023) After a federal court dismissed challenges to the Humanity in Healthcare Act last week, Attorney General Daniel Cameron celebrates another legal victory for mothers and unborn children. Today, General Cameron announced that the plaintiffs in Jefferson Circuit Court—Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Center—have conceded and moved for voluntary dismissal of their challenge to Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act.

Attorney General Cameron released the following statement::

“A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable—especially the unborn. Today is a reminder that every life deserves to live. My office will always defend and enforce Kentucky’s pro-life laws passed by our General Assembly. We are gratified that the abortion providers recognized their case should be dismissed. As a result of our efforts, I am proud to say that the elective abortion industry is out of business in Kentucky, and their inhumane practice remains illegal in our Commonwealth.”

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 16, 2023) Attorney General Cameron announces that a federal court has dismissed the challenge to House Bill 3—the Humanity in Healthcare Act—brought by Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Center. One of the most comprehensive pieces of pro-life legislation in the Commonwealth’s history, the Humanity in Healthcare Act is now fully in force and is the law of Kentucky.

The dismissal of the challenge to HB 3 follows a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Court ordered that the district court’s rulings questioning HB 3’s legality are no longer binding and lifted the district court’s injunction preventing full enforcement of the law.

General Cameron released the following statement:

“Our laws should reflect our values. Kentuckians across the Commonwealth have repeatedly sent pro-life representatives to Frankfort to protect the health and safety of mothers and unborn children. That’s exactly what the General Assembly did in 2022 with House Bill 3. I always have and always will stand strong in defense of our pro-life legislation. And because of my office’s work, every word of the Humanity in Healthcare Act is now law.”

View the court ruling here.

From the desk of Addia Wuchner, RN, Executive Director

In the last 299 days, there have been no abortions in Commonwealth of Kentucky — except when medically necessary to protect the life of the mother.

Let’s face it folks, when you can no longer profit from taking innocent lives, close the doors and it is time to move on. EMW is doing just that!

Photo from KentuckyToday.com website.

Prior to the overturning of Roe on June 24, 2022, and the KY Court’s ruling on August 1, 2022, EMW Women’s Surgical Center was in the business of ending lives… and they have ended the lives of SO MANY babies as the primary abortion clinic serving the city of Louisville, the state of Kentucky and a six-state region since 1981.

But, since 1981 on any day EMW’s doors were open, faithful advocates for the unborn prayed, held signs, offered booklets, and sidewalk counselors would come alongside the women, sharing words of support and other options to consider, often directing them to local pregnancy care centers.

For years Kentucky Right to Life and our members, faithful ProLife advocates and prayer warriors have stormed Heaven for those who had no voice.

We waited, trusted, and advocated that one day we would see EMW shut down. Well, that day has come!

For 50 years, Kentucky Right to Life has worked to help elect candidates for public office who were committed to be “ProLife lawmakers”. Once elected, KRTL and other groups worked tirelessly with these legislators to draft and pass laws that recognized preborn babies as human beings deserving of legal protection.

Since 2017, over 18 ProLife laws were passed! Most were challenged in the courts. The ‘Trigger’ law passed in 2019, affirmed that if Roe were overturned, abortion in Kentucky would end.

Then something just short of a miracle occurred... In 2019 the citizens of Kentucky elected Daniel Cameron as Attorney General. AG Cameron assembled his team, “the best of the best” extremely talented attorneys, many who served with Matt Bevin.

Over the last three years, General Cameron, Solicitor General Matt Kuhn, Chris Thacker and the entire team have defended Kentucky’s ProLife laws in the Jefferson and Franklin County Courts, the US Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Time and time again, they have demonstrated their ability to critically analyze the situation and to create a plan of action to win in the Courts. Their dedication and skill are why today we are witnessing the sale of EMW Abortion Clinic!

Yes, we know that Planned Parenthood still stands, but optimism is in the air. Thank you ProLifers! Let’s continue to pray and stand against abortion.

By law the Vital Statistics Branch must publish Ky’s abortion statistics for the calendar year by September 30. The 2020 Report shows an increase of 79 abortions at the EMW clinic over 2019. Planned Parenthood statistics were 368. This year the University of Kentucky healthcare system has been added.

The report shows that women ages 25-29 had the most abortions; in 2019 it was the 20-24 age group.

Black Lives Matter?

Of the 4,104 abortions in Ky in 2020, 1,418 or 35% were for black women, up 1% from 2019.

Once again, college-educated women led the way in numbers of abortions: 2,199 with 1-4 years of college, and those with 5+ years had three, but the educational level of 22 women was unknown. As well, of the 4,104 total abortions, only one (1) was classified as ‘necessary.’

This is a very troubling report with many statistics that require professional explanation. Please watch for a follow-up article by Addia.

by Addia Wuchner, Executive Director, KRTL

Premature death is defined as death occurring before the average age of death in certain populations, such as accidental deaths: falls, drownings, auto accidents, drug overdoses, other.

In 2020, the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics reported 1,964 overdose deaths. Headlines read, “Drug overdose numbers up 49%” (Fentanyl and Methamphetamines were the biggest contributors.)

Kentucky’s Leading Causes of Death in 2020 were:

• Cancer Deaths, approx. 10,312
• Heart Disease Deaths, approx. 10,077
• *Abortion Deaths, approx. 4,000 (#3 cause of death in Kentucky)
• Chronic Respiratory Diseases, approx. 3,331

The death of a child is always tragic and heartbreaking. Unintentional injury deaths of children consist mainly of accidents and are, without a doubt, the most preventable deaths for children. The intentional injury deaths of children mainly consist of murder and suicide. In 2019, Kentucky reported 139 suspicious cases of child fatality, or near fatality, due to abuse, neglect, and maltreatment; 85% of the children were under four years old and approximately 40% (77 children) were under 12 months old.

Yet, the #3 cause of death in Kentucky, abortion, is both premature death and intentional injury death — as recognized by those of us who acknowledge the dignity of the smallest and most vulnerable humans in our midst: The preborn child’s death is a profoundly tragic reflection of rejection and violence against a child.

Until there are no more—

Kentucky Right to Life and our Chapters throughout Kentucky will continue to pray, educate, and collaborate with other ProFamily advocates, support pregnancy care and programs, and work with Kentucky senators and representatives to advocate for legislation that protects the human rights of the preborn child and other vulnerable persons in our society.

CHARTS

ABORTIONS BY MONTH

MONTHLY CUMULATIVE TOTALS

Acknowledgements:

Thank you to Donna Durning for faithfully providing the onsite abortion reports. Donna has been an unwavering advocate for life outside EMW abortion facility for years, offering hope, love, and prayers on the sidewalk; ministering to women and men as they enter to terminate the life of their child. The chart at left documents Donna’s counts outside of the EMW abortion facility.

Also, our sincere appreciation to Missy Stone, Executive Director of Reprotection, for her critical statistical and abortion reporting evaluations like this chart.

*Note: Kentucky is unable to adequately capture reporting data of expectant moms who live in close proximity to Tennessee or Ohio and may travel out of state to terminate their pregnancies, so we project this number is actually higher. ALSO: The 2021 figures include the abortions performed by Planned Parenthood in Louisville.

UPDATE: 8-31-2020 | AG Cameron continues to actively pursue litigation. More

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In late June we reported on the Supreme Court decision that ruled against Louisiana’s 2014 ‘Unsafe Abortion Protection Act’, the June v. Russo case.

Pro-lifers had hoped SCOTUS would require abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges with nearby hospitals. Instead, the Justices’ decision has caused a wave of motions by ACLU and/or abortion clinic attorneys across the country, asking courts to recognize the SCOTUS decision as pertinent to litigation or laws that are related.

To counter this aggressive effort, AG Cameron stepped forward to request that the Sixth Circuit grant his motion to defend Kentucky’s Transfer Agreement Law from Legal Challenge by ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the EMW. It was granted. This case was begun in the Bevin administration so it was necessary to update those involved.

The Appeals Court heard arguments in the case last August. We suspected it was waiting to hear what SCOTUS would say about the Louisiana case before issuing a ruling.

We remain hopeful to see our Transfer Agreement law upheld. As mentioned in previous posts, of the judges on the panel, two were appointed by President Trump. They seemed genuinely interested during the oral arguments, and even suggested good reasons for transfer agreements!

Also, of six states that require TAs with hospitals, two are in the jurisdiction of the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court. The six states are: Florida, NC, Penn., Wisconsin, Mich. and Ohio, with the last two being part of the Sixth Circuit along with Ky. and Tenn.

The ramifications of the June v. Russo case are many. The Guttmacher Institute, a policy arm of abortion supporters, provided a view to how it could affect the national “targeted regulation of abortion providers.”

It is strange that their chart that delineates which states have Transfer Agreements marks Kentucky’s Law as “permanently enjoined.” Of course, it is NOT. It awaits the decision of the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court.

Blog series on this website presenting various aspects of this topic include the Amici series and the License to Abort series. Use the Google search window at the top to search by words or phrases.

Updated August 21, 9 AM

C-J reports NO BUFFER ZONE!

The Louisville Metro Council on Thursday rejected an ordinance that would have allowed health care facilities, including abortion clinics, to create a buffer zone outside the entrances to their facilities.

The legislation, proposed this year after years of advocacy work by activists including the Kentucky Health Justice Network, failed in a 12-13 vote after lengthy discussion that at times verged into the ethics of abortion.

All seven Republicans — council members Kevin Kramer, R-11th; Scott Reed, R-16th; Parker; Anthony Piagentini, R-19th; Stuart Benson, R-20th; Robin Engel, R-21st; and James Peden, R-23rd — voted against the ordinance.

They were joined by six Democrats: Pat Mulvihill, D-10th; Rick Blackwell, D-12th; Mark Fox, D-13th; Cindi Fowler, D-14th; Madonna Flood, D-24th; and David Yates, D-25th.

TIME NOW to SAY THANKS! See email link for Council members below.

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Updated August 19, 2:30 PM

FULL METRO COUNCIL VOTE ON BUFFER ZONE AUGUST 20

Many in the community have objected— Read the ordinance.

A long-time member of RTL shared the letter that he sent to the Council members. As he notes, “The resolution cites the COVID pandemic as a reason for its passage. Putting aside the fact that most of the protesters wear masks since COVID, isn’t it interesting how no council member has suggested that other protests observe a similar buffer zone for public safety. It seems that one group’s right to protest is deemed safe and another group’s protest must have a buffer.”

Email the council members. View the agenda.

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Updated August 14, 2020 7AM

Buffer Zone ordinance advances to full council

The Courier-Journal reported late Thursday that the Buffer Zone ordinance moved out of committee:

Legislation that would allow health care facilities, including abortion clinics, to create "buffer zones" outside their entrances to preserve access to services is one step closer to reality.

The Louisville Metro Council’s Community Affairs, Health and Education Committee voted 4-2 along partisan lines Wednesday to send the ordinance to the full Metro Council for its consideration, after more than two hours of discussion.

The legislation, which has been called for by advocates for several years, was made more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to sponsors who spoke at Wednesday's committee meeting.

Councilwoman Jessica Green, D-1st District, said the ordinance shouldn't be a debate about abortion because it is legal and “makes sense right now” because it has become a safety and public health issue.

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The buffer zone (BZ) is back in the news. Nationally, it has steadily been debated and adjudicated for decades.

In June of 2014 the Supreme Court determined for Massachusetts that an abortion clinic buffer zone of 35-feet would violate the First Amendment. At that time Chief Justice Roberts said, “Such areas occupy a ‘special position in terms of First Amendment protec­tion’ because of their historic role as sites for discussion and debate…”

But in early July (2020) SCOTUS declined to review an appeal on behalf of Colorado pro-lifers regarding a 2000 decision that upheld an 8-foot ‘bubble zone’ around people near an entrance to a clinic. This means that clinic access laws in Chicago and Harrisburg, Penn., will not be challenged as pro-lifers had hoped. The Chicago ordinance requires an 8-foot bubble zone around people within 50 feet of a clinic entrance and restricts specified types of free speech— protesting and counseling. The Harrisburg ordinance sets a 20-foot buffer zone.

In Louisville, the issue took front and center in the spring of 2017. KRLA reported on a Louisville Metro Council (LMC) meeting where the BZ was proposed and discussed on June 14, 2017. The photo shows some sidewalk counselors who attended the meeting, and their small sign relates the best reasons not to have a BZ: Free speech and Women have Right to Know.

Last January Councilman Robin Engle warned the peaceful protestors at the Louisville Rally for Life held on the Metro Hall steps, that LMC and BZ supporters were discussing a new effort. Robin said in response to the C-J story that followed, “I don’t know the distance being discussed in the version of the ordinance being proposed by abortion advocates. The Council tried to establish limits like this on free speech (in 2017), and there really isn’t much difference between 10, 20 and 50 feet.”

Fast-forward to August 2020: We are now being advised by the LMC that a 12-foot BZ is needed by ALL health clinics, double the six-foot “guidance” for COVID safety. The new ordinance, filed August 3, states: The Dept. of Public Works “shall, at the request of any healthcare facility, paint or lay on the public way or sidewalk easily distinguishable demarcation lines marking the buffer zone and post such zone with signage stating: ‘Healthcare facility: No standing or obstructions within this zone’ and citing this ordinance.”

The LMC Community Affairs, Health and Education Committee agenda states they will discuss the BZ at their August 12 meeting at 1:30 PM.

Louisville residents can find their Council representatives here. Email addresses are here. Address correspondence to: Louisville Metro Council, 601 West Jefferson St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Look for Louisville Safety Zone on Facebook and Twitter to view the community activism.

The COVID-19 virus is cited in the ordinance as a reason for the BZ:
WHEREAS, as of July 16, 2020, over 3,483,832 individuals in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with 21,083 of those cases being Kentucky citizens;
WHEREAS, as of July 16, 2020, over 136,938 individuals in the United States have died from COVID-19, with 650 of those deaths being Kentucky citizens; …

This means that of 326.7 million people in the U.S., one percent have or had the virus and .04% have died. As well, there are many stories in the media stating that numerous deaths are attributed to COVID among those who had other debilitating conditions.

Is this another instance of COVID-engineered societal lockdown?

Pro-lifers in Kentucky currently await a number of important court rulings:

1. The Supreme Court will soon rule on the Louisiana June Medical Services case. Its decision could require abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges to a nearby hospital, leading to many clinic closings in the nation. In Louisville two doctors (of whom we are aware) at the EMW clinic do have hospital admitting privileges but this is not the same as a Transfer Agreement.
2. The Transfer Agreement lawsuit awaits a decision from the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court. It is possible that the above-mentioned SCOTUS ruling will affect that case. However, as brought out by Kentucky’s attorneys during the trial and appeal, the critical aspect of such agreements is the “protocol for transferring medical records.” Since two of the judges on the Appeals panel were appointed by President Trump, we hope for a fair and just decision.
3. The Heartbeat and Anti-eugenics laws, rolled into one during the litigation, await the decision of the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court on an Ohio case, “Preterm-Cleveland v. Himes,” that will determine the fate of Down Syndrome babies and the outcome of the Kentucky litigation.
4. The Dismemberment Abortion law appeal was decided in favor of the EMW and ACLU,  however, AG Cameron will be making a decision soon on whether to request an “en banc” (full Appeals Court) hearing or to instead appeal the case to SCOTUS.

Presently, pro-lifers are striving to prevent the overturn of safety precautions for women who elect medical abortions. Attorney General Cameron has added Kentucky as an “Intervenor State” to an Amicus brief in defense of in-person dispensing of the “abortion pill” by a doctor for the protection of the woman seeking the abortion. The political association for ObGyns, ACOG, wants the FDA to drop their regulations that ensure a drug’s benefits outweigh its risks. The pro-life ObGyns have exposed this.

Let's all pray.

New ideas are always emerging in the pro-life activists’ realm. One idea recently heard was that those protesting at abortion clinics ought to carry signs telling the moms-to-be that they are carrying a little goldmine: “STOP! The liver of your fetus is worth $750! Contact us at [phone].” The activist could take the conversation from there.

This, of course, was not a serious suggestion.

However, if hearing a heartbeat (at six weeks) during an ultrasound does not register with the pregnant lady, maybe losing $750 would capture her attention. Women want to know when others are taking advantage of them.

During the recent trial to convict David Daleiden and others with the Center for Medical Progress who exposed the Planned Parenthood baby body parts scandal, that dollar amount for a liver was noted in testimony:

One particularly incriminating exchange was during the video testimony of Tram Nguyen, Abortion Center Administrator for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC). She was asked by defense counsel about an e-mail stream between her and the Regional Medical and Surgical Services Director of PPGC.

Nguyen agreed in that e-mail exchange that she wanted to move forward with an attached contract that would have paid PPGC $750.00 per fetal liver and $1,600.00 per fetal liver/thymus pair.

And be aware—

… In December 2017, two California companies, DV Biologics and DaVinci Biosciences, admitted guilt and agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle a civil case brought by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for illegally trafficking in aborted baby tissues and organs procured exclusively from Southern California Planned Parenthood abortion facilities. The two companies were also ordered to shut down, but in a miscarriage of justice, Planned Parenthood escaped prosecution.

So, because it is unlikely that PP will explain to the abortion patient how the body parts of her baby may be worth a lot of money, pro-lifers could do so. The women need to understand who PP is.

A new film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, glorifies Planned Parenthood. A movie review on The New Republic site gushes:

Planned Parenthood does save people’s futures. Those are the facts of Hittman’s film, but they are also the facts of life in the United States. Even worse, since the coronavirus crisis began, several states have deemed abortion to be a “nonessential” medical procedure and ordered that all planned terminations be delayed, apparently ignoring the fact that pregnancy waits for no man.

Those real-world stakes make the film harder to interpret as a piece of fiction, since, on the one hand, its delicate cinematography is inevitably overshadowed by the towering political issues at play. One leaves the movie shattered with gratitude toward Planned Parenthood and the people who work there, and disoriented with rage toward almost everybody else.

The crisis pregnancy center in the film is cast as as ‘religious propaganda station.’

The movie went online last week (pay for play) with rave reviews from the usual suspects— The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and others.

The heroine must endure the Christian at the crisis center who performs the ultrasound, saying, This is the most magical sound you will ever hear, regarding the fetal heartbeat. She tears up, very slightly. Perhaps it saddens her, but her own choice is the dominant voice in her conscience.

With the courts, the media, the entertainment industry, the large corporations, the universities and schools and even many churches supporting that choice, what could help her to change her mind? Well, maybe she would get mad enough to, if she thought someone was about to ‘make a killing’ from her product of conception.

And furthermore, the movie reviewer was wrong about COVID-19 proving that abortion is essential since the woman must be aborted as early as possible — to avoid complications? Hmm. At 22 weeks, the brain is worth $999, so from a practical standpoint, COVID-19 is preventing medical research— and more profits for abortion clinics that traffic in parts.

Surely, we want to believe, such trafficking no longer takes place. More on this in a future post.

A lot of information on Transfer Agreements is on this website, including a blog series that questions how Andy Beshear as AG filed an Amicus brief on behalf of EMW and PP. Particularly when it was his duty to defend Kentucky law. ?

Will our current AG Daniel Cameron sue Gov. Beshear for issuing the illegal license to abort?

It is well to pursue lawbreakers in a step-by-step manner as KRS 15.241 and HB451 prescribe. HB451 ended up in the House Rules Committee at the end of the 2020 Legislative Session, however its language was merged into the SB9 bill at the 11th hour of the Session. Many news stories today are reporting this advance.

Insert this!

For the AG to sue the Governor is a huge and costly step. AG Beshear sued Gov. Bevin five times and won two of the cases: He blocked the governor's $18 million cut to Kentucky universities in 2016 and blocked the administration's pension reform bill in 2018. Bevin won the teacher “sick-out” case, but when Beshear became Governor, he reversed the decision.

Most Kentuckians do not want their AG and Governor to be embroiled in court cases on different sides. Ouch. They would prefer the HB451 method.

Contingencies

Most pro-lifers would understand that the TA case may be decided at any time, and if it upholds Judge Stivers’ verdict, then the clinics will not need TAs.

Possibly the Appeals Court is waiting to learn if the Supreme Court will uphold Louisiana’s Unsafe Abortion Protection Act that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges within 30 miles of a local hospital, and requires doctors who perform more than five abortions a year to maintain proper licensing.

This case further mandates that informed consent protections and reporting of anonymous data and complications apply to to RU486 chemical abortions, just as to surgical abortion, and it clarifies that physicians in both private offices and licensed outpatient abortion facilities owe women the same informed consent protections and reporting of public health data and abortion complications, whether the abortion is surgical or an RU-486 drug-induced abortion.

Kentucky already requires reporting of RU486 abortions and informed consent protections, and does not permit abortions to be performed in private offices nor in public hospitals unless to save the life of the mother.

The tragedy of this long wait for court decisions is the loss of precious and innocent humans who deserved legal protection. So, don’t be surprised if AG Cameron decides to make an issue of the missing TAs as well as the COVID-19 violation of the Governor’s healthcare mandate even if SB9 does not become law. And, don’t be surprised if the Sixth Circuit Court decides in favor of Kentucky’s appeal before SCOTUS rules on the Louisiana case.

An Aside:

Current Kentucky abortion licensing requires that:
An employee or volunteer of the facility while afflicted with any infected wounds, boils, sores, or an acute respiratory infection or any other contagious disease or illness shall not work in any capacity in which there is a likelihood of that person transmitting disease to other individuals.

Since COVID19 carriers may be asymptomatic, this is yet another aspect of licensing law being broken.

In many previous posts we have carefully explained why it is not possible for any abortion clinic in Kentucky to be licensed unless it has Transfer Agreements. Nevertheless, the law that mandates this has been ignored.

For a time we were not sure that Planned Parenthood was doing abortions even though we knew they had been issued an illegal license, but we recently learned a person seeking an abortion had been scheduled there to have one. So, we are assuming that Kentucky now has two abortion clinics.

Though Gov. Beshear has mandated that all elective medical procedures cease, about 380 abortions have been performed this month at the EMW clinic. How many at PP? Who knows?

Attorney General Daniel Cameron is on the move to enforce protection for abortion clinic workers and their clients. But based on media reports of Planned Parenthood and ACLU-led push-back against this common sense initiative in other states, it is likely Cameron's challenge will be opposed.

We urge all pro-lifers to send a message to our AG to encourage him in this fight and to show appreciation. He has shown great leadership for us, and we need to show great support for him.

Based on former AG Beshear challenging Gov. Bevin in court, it was established by Kentucky’s Supreme Court that the AG can sue the Governor. The Court wrote:

“It is certainly in ‘the interest of all the people’ that there be no unconstitutional or illegal governmental conduct.” The Court analyzed the supremacy of the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Commonwealth, and found that he has broad authority to sue for declaratory and injunctive relief against state actors, including the Governor, whose actions he believes are illegal or unconstitutional.

Though we do not look for AG Cameron to be ‘litigious’ we know he is committed to protect human life in all its stages.

Executive Director Margie Montgomery has weighed in on this controversy. Click to see the WLKY-TV report and video.

Our office staff is on the job throughout the week, though the public cannot enter our building at this time due to COVID-19 restrictions. Your contributions are most welcome, and we thank all who donate, no matter what the amount.

Fourth in the License to Abort Little Ones series

A look back over the multitude of legal briefs that began to be filed in early 2017 for the Transfer Agreements case reveals that Vickie Yates Brown Glisson was first to be named in the suit by EMW (et al) against Kentucky.

Ms. Glisson was appointed by Gov. Bevin in 2015 as Secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). When the suit began, the CHFS did not have a general counsel. Then-AG Beshear did not defend Kentucky’s pro-life laws. Therefore Gov. Bevin called upon his General Counsel Steve Pitt to serve in Beshear’s role.

However, now that our new AG is pro-life, Gov. Beshear believes his CHFS Secretary has the authority to rescind lawsuits begun when Steve Pitt acted as General Counsel.

Kentucky’s CHFS Acting Secretary Eric Friedlander was quoted in a C-J article on Jan. 14:

“By rescinding the improper decision by the previous administration, we are now following the established processes required to reapply for a license," Friedlander said in a statement. "This administration will follow the state laws and statutes related to licensing of these facilities.”

…Friedlander's agency on Tuesday dropped the lawsuit the Bevin administration had filed accusing Planned Parenthood of failing to comply with state law in its previous license application. Lawyers for the Beshear administration and Planned Parenthood signed an agreement to dismiss the case pending in Jefferson Circuit Court, saying there was no failure to comply with the law.

Was the case pending in the Jefferson Circuit Court? A call to the Cincinnati Sixth Circuit Appeals Court this week disclosed the case is pending there. What is going on? KRLA has requested AG Cameron’s help in this matter and we are confident he will clarify or take action to resolve the confusion.

First AG Beshear told Kentuckians he opposed the TA case. He even submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the EMW and PP while serving as Kentucky’s AG! (See blog series). Now, as Governor, he claims control of it? Can this be?

On the AG webpage on the state website, there is information on the AG powers:

The Kentucky Supreme Court has firmly established that the Attorney General’s primary obligation is to the people and their Commonwealth – not any branch of government. In 2016, the Supreme Court recognized the Attorney General’s common-law obligation to protect public rights and interests by ensuring that our government acts legally and constitutionally, in Beshear v. Bevin, 498 S.W.3d 355. The Court wrote that “It is certainly in ‘the interest of all the people’ that there be no unconstitutional or illegal governmental conduct.” The Court analyzed the supremacy of the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Commonwealth, and found that he has broad authority to sue for declaratory and injunctive relief against state actors, including the Governor, whose actions he believes are illegal or unconstitutional.

Click here to read the rules for licensure of an abortion clinic in Kentucky. This has not been removed from the Ky. Law webpage to date.

On Jan. 31 the C-J reported:

Planned Parenthood now has permission to provide abortions at its clinic in downtown Louisville, making it the second facility in Kentucky to offer the procedure at a time when providers in some states are closing clinics under pressure from anti-abortion laws.

We believe this is a ruse.

If the Appeals Court panel of judges reinstates Kentucky’s TA law, that will either end the matter or the ACLU (et al) will pursue the case to SCOTUS. If the Appeals Court judges agree with the Fifth District Court decision handed down by Judge Stivers, perhaps AG Cameron will appeal to SCOTUS. (See related article on pro-life case now at SCOTUS.)

We are confident that the Rule of Law will prevail.

It has never been the TA Defense’s goal to shut down Kentucky’s abortion clinics, but only to preserve the existing law that protects aborted women.

Third in the License to Abort Little Ones series

There is a little confusion in the Transfer Agreements term. Sometimes it is used in the singular and other times as plural. There are two agreements, one with a hospital and one with a local ambulance service.

It was brought out in the Kentucky Transfer Agreements (TA) trial in September 2017, that the crucial feature of any TA with a hospital is the “protocol for transferring medical records.” This was restated in an Appellant (Ky.) brief last October explaining to the Cincinnati Appellate Court why the TA case is far from being resolved.

Kentucky’s brief was in response to an ACLU brief stating that a new policy issued September 30, 2019, by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) eliminates the requirement for Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC) to have

1. doctors with admitting privileges on staff,
   or
2. a written transfer agreement with a hospital,

in order to participate in the Medicare program.

The CMS states that

1. the enactment of EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) regulations, and
2. the small number of transfers, and
3. the burden that ASCs incur when faced with local hospital competition issues

are good reasons why no TA is needed.

They are banking on ‘911’ calls and city/county EMS to do the job.

This brings up a point: Abortion clinics in Kentucky are not required to be licensed as ASCs. Since they are not ASCs with more stringent hospital standards, the TAs are essential to the current licensure standards. Are we willing to say that Medicaid rules that key in on saving money and the low numbers of potential fatalities should define the new standard?

But, why not require that any Kentucky abortion clinic be licensed as an ASC? Isn’t abortion a surgical procedure? Yes, of course.

There are two types of surgical abortion: aspiration abortion and dilation and evacuation (D&E - dismemberment) abortion. Women up to 14 to 16 weeks pregnant can have an aspiration abortion (except for the baby’s skull which may need to be crushed before aspiration). D&E abortions are performed at 14 to 16 weeks or after.

Gov. Beshear has issued a license for PP to begin doing abortions in March. This is not legal unless PP has a TA which has not yet been publicized.

If they do not have a TA, they will be operating illegally.

So, why does the Guttmacher.org website which favors abortion, claim that the “Transfer Agreement with Hospital” requirement in Kentucky is permanently enjoined and is not in effect?

The LawAtlas.org site, which pulls data from the internet, states that Kentucky Law does require TAs.

Pro-lifers have reason to think positive: Two of the three judges on the panel were appointed by President Trump. At the hearing last August, KRLA staff and friends heard their questions and thought they seemed genuinely impartial and willing to consider the importance of safety for the aborted woman.

If the Appeals Court reverses the District Court decision, as it did for Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law last year, then PP will be required to get TAs, as will EMW, or the case may be appealed to SCOTUS.

Like the Ultrasound Law, the TA Law does not oppose abortion. The former requires that the woman be informed and the latter that she be protected in the event of an emergency.

First in the License to Abort Little Ones series

Does the Planned Parenthood clinic on 7th Street in Louisville have Transfer Agreements? Will it really begin doing abortions in March?

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Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal | Published 5:06 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2020 | Updated 6:11 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2020

Planned Parenthood now has permission to provide abortions at its clinic in downtown Louisville, making it the second facility in Kentucky to offer the procedure at a time when providers in some states are closing clinics under pressure from anti-abortion laws.

The decision by the administration of Gov. Andy Beshear was hailed by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky as a victory for women’s health and reproductive rights, saying the decision allows it to provide “a full range of reproductive health care.”

…Planned Parenthood said it plans to begin offering abortions in March.

Unlike EMW, which operates a storefront clinic and is the site of daily sidewalk protests by people opposed to abortion, Planned Parenthood’s clinic is set back off the road with on-site parking surrounded by a privacy fence.

Read more.

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Do governors have the right to overrule legislation in the court system that is pending resolution?

The C-J reported in late September 2018 that Judge Stivers (a Fifth District Court judge) ruled in favor of the abortion clinics, and struck down the “state law requiring Kentucky abortion clinics to have written agreements with an ambulance service and hospital for emergencies… ” His ruling was appealed by Gov. Bevin to the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court. THAT IS WHY the article ALSO states:

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Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal | Published 4:12 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2018 | Updated 6:49 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2018

The revocation of EMW's license would have made Kentucky the only state without a single abortion provider. Stivers had ordered that EMW could remain open while the legal challenge is pending… (Our emphasis)

What has changed? The TA case has NOT been ruled on by the Sixth Circuit Court. The only new document on PACER that we can find is the Amy Cubbage, Ackerson & Yann, PLLC, motion to withdraw as Counsel for EMW WOMEN’S SURGICAL CENTER, P.S.C., et al., filed 1/30/2020.

Do governors have the right to overrule legislation in the court system that is pending a resolution? And if Daniel Cameron decides to appeal that decision, if unfavorable, to SCOTUS, will Gov. Beshear have any right to grant a license to PP?

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C-J article in 2019 reported on Judge Stiver’s challenge to Gov. Bevin to grant PP a license to abort

Last August the Bevin administration was advised to grant a license to Planned Parenthood, as reported in the C-J.

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Deborah Yetter and David Harten, Louisville Courier Journal | Published 10:18 p.m. ET Aug. 16, 2019 | Updated 4:33 p.m. ET Aug. 17, 2019

…In a notice to the judge filed Friday, Meredith and lawyer M. Stephen Pitt, Bevin's general counsel, told the judge that the state had denied a license to Planned Parenthood and that he has no authority in the matter.

“Respectfully, this Court has no jurisdiction over the state licensing process," the notice said.

The state's denial comes amid an ongoing dispute over whether Kentucky abortion clinics must have transport and transfer agreements with an ambulance and hospital in the event of a medical emergency, as required by a 1998 state law.

Has Kentucky’s Transfer Agreement law been overturned? When? Does Planned Parenthood now have Transfer Agreements? We are keeping our ear to the ground.

For more background on this controversy, see the blog series on then-AG Beshear's Amicus brief on behalf of the abortion clinics, and the TA page on this site.

Eighth in a Series: Pro-life Laws Under Attack

A New Year’s Prediction: Perhaps the legal case against Kentucky’s Heartbeat and Anti-Eugenics Law will not be decided before Spring 2020.

In a document filed on December 16, 2019 by the Plaintiffs, it is revealed that an ‘En Banc’ review of Ohio’s Preterm-Cleveland v. Himes case has been granted by the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court. The Preterm-Cleveland case was cited by our attorneys in document 47 as relevant to Kentucky’s when Ohio appealed for a ‘full-bench’ (en banc) hearing after the Appellate Court upheld the preliminary injunction against it.

Some background

In 2018, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood of America filed a suit on behalf of several abortion clinics and their patients to challenge HB214, the Ohio law that prohibits abortion if based on a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome. They argued that the law imposes an unconstitutional burden on patients seeking abortions. ReWire News reported:

On March 14, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law, ruling that Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade bars states from prohibiting pregnant people “from making the ultimate decision to terminate [their] pregnancy before viability.”

On October 11, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court order blocking the law, ruling that it “unconstitutionally inhibits pre-viability abortions based on a woman’s reason for seeking abortion.” Ohio has sought a rehearing en banc.

Ohio’s request was granted on December 13, and the oral argument is scheduled for March 11, 2020. It seems likely that Judge Hale may wait for that opinion before issuing a decision on the Heartbeat and Anti-eugenics laws.

We await new documents to be filed, and will add a post to this series when that occurs.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the challenge to Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law. “This is the best possible news defenders of life in the womb could receive! It is bad news for EMW Abortion facility and for Louisville Planned Parenthood,” stated KRLA President Diana Maldonado.

Thank you to Governor Matt Bevin for defending this law at the Appellate level and at the highest level. Tomorrow, Kentucky’s new Governor will be sworn in to office. Andy Beshear refused to defend the Ultrasound law when he was the Attorney General.

As reported by AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions.

The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law on behalf of Kentucky’s lone remaining abortion clinic. The ACLU argued that “display and describe” ultrasound laws violate physicians’ speech rights under the First Amendment...

Read more.