UPDATE: May 30 AT 9:50 p.m.
Attorney General Russell Coleman has also released a statement in regards to the withdraw of Poe v. Coleman.
“Kentuckians can be proud that our pro-life values won the day today, and innocent lives will continue to be saved as a result,” said Coleman. “I’m grateful to our dedicated team who continues to uphold the law as passed by our General Assembly.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Last year, a Louisville woman filed a lawsuit against the state in an effort to overturn Kentucky's near-total abortion ban. On Friday, attorneys announced that that lawsuit has been withdrawn.
The plaintiff, referred to in court filings by Mary Poe, was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. At the time of the filing of the suit, Poe was seven weeks pregnant and was challenging two laws that have kept abortion banned in Kentucky since 2022.
ACLU-KY Executive Director Amber Duke released a statement following the decision.
"Today, attorneys dismissed a lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s two abortion bans, Poe v. Coleman. Decisions about healthcare care are and should remain private, and we will not be providing additional details about the dismissal," Duke said. "People have the right to control their own bodies without government interference, and we will never stop fighting to restore abortion access in Kentucky. We are strategizing our next steps in this fight. In the meantime, our work to address the commonwealth’s maternal mortality rates and lack of widespread paid leave coverage will continue as long as Kentucky remains a forced-birth state."
Find previous reporting by LEX 18 on the lawsuit here.
