FRANKFORT, Ky. (CN) — A so-called trigger law that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and bans nearly all abortions in Kentucky will remain in effect until arguments can be heard in November, the commonwealth's top court ruled Thursday.
The decision is several months in the making and comes after a flurry of legal activity touched off by a lawsuit filed in June by Kentucky's last remaining abortion providers, Planned Parenthood and EMW Women's Surgical Center.
The judge in the state court action granted the providers' motion for a temporary restraining order several days after the complaint was filed, an order that was eventually extended in July.
However, an appeals court judge overturned the injunction and reinstated the law on Aug. 1, following a successful appeal by Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
The reversal once again outlawed abortion in Kentucky and prompted the commonwealth's abortion providers to petition the Kentucky Supreme Court to suspend the laws and take up the legal questions implicated in the case.
On Thursday, the justices declined to grant emergency relief but accepted the case and ordered the parties to submit briefs, which will be presented during arguments on Nov. 15.
The argument date is noteworthy because it comes after the 2022 general election, during which voters will decide the fate of a ballot measure that would definitively state there is no constitutional right to an abortion in Kentucky.
Justice Michelle Keller criticized the appeals court for its reversal of the injunction in an opinion that concurred with the court's decision in result only and said the lower court "not only failed to give appropriate deference to the trial court but also failed to undertake a thorough analysis that is required in a case of this magnitude."
Justice Christopher Nickell joined Keller in her opinion.
Chief Justice John Minton Jr. emphasized the importance and contentious nature of the issue at stake and wrote in a dissenting opinion the high court should have taken up the appeal immediately, rather than waiting until both parties could complete their briefing.
"It is difficult to comprehend a more important or serious legal issue than legal access to abortion in the Commonwealth," he wrote. "Put differently, if review of access to abortion under these circumstances does not provide extraordinary cause warranting emergency interlocutory review by this court, what issue would constitute extraordinary cause?"
Minton scolded the appeals court for failing to engage in any meaningful analysis of the trial court's decision and instead "making its own legal conclusions without citing to any of the factual findings from the evidentiary hearing."
Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth Hughes joined Minton in his dissent.
Planned Parenthood decried the decision in a statement and said the refusal to grant emergency relief "puts nearly a million people's health care in jeopardy.
"Abortion is not only health care but also a critical individual freedom. Make no mistake: abortion bans result in tragic health outcomes and are a form of control over our bodies. Despite this setback, the fight continues," it said. "We will proceed with our case to restore and protect reproductive freedom in Kentucky. Politicians and the government should never have the authority to force a person to remain pregnant against their will."
AG Cameron called the decision by the court to keep Kentucky’s abortion clinics shuttered a “victory for life.”
“This morning, the KY Supreme Court denied an attempt to reopen abortion clinics in Kentucky,” he said. “The Court’s order ensures that Kentucky’s Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law remain in effect while the court case continues. We are pleased with this victory for life and the rule of law and will continue to prepare for the arguments the Court has scheduled.”
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