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SCOTUS to hear Kentucky case: AG hopes to defend law before federal appeals court

Abortion Kentucky
Posted at 7:56 PM, Oct 06, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-06 21:15:46-04

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Supreme Court of the United States will soon hear three cases related to abortion rights. One of those cases is out of Kentucky.

On October 12, the court will take up Cameron v. EMW Women's Surgical Center. The question directly at stake, in this case, is whether a state attorney general can intervene after a federal appeals court strikes down a state law. But indirectly, this case is about abortion.

In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 454, a restrictive bill that essentially bans dilation and evacuation abortions. The bill was challenged, and the courts ruled against the bill. Attorney General Daniel Cameron tried to intervene after the ruling, but his motion was denied.

"Most of you know this," said Cameron before an anti-abortion crowd on Wednesday. "I'm expecting a child in January. And you see, whether it's an ultrasound or you get a sonogram, and you see that tiny face, or you hear that heartbeat, it makes it real for you."

"We're going to respect life here in Kentucky and we're going to protect those who cannot speak for themselves," he added.

However, not everyone is anti-abortion. This weekend, women marched across the country to protect abortion rights.

In Lexington, the crowd repeatedly chanted "my body, my choice."

"My uterus is more regulated than an assault weapon," said George Ella Lyon, one of reproductive rights supporters. "Just think about that - that we will put gun rights above women's rights."

"The outrage at what's happening with women's reproductive rights," she added. "The fear that it's going to go back to the way it was before abortion was legal."