The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected arguments by abortion rights groups against a Kentucky law requiring doctors to administer and describe an ultrasound and share the sounds of a fetal heartbeat with those seeking an abortion.
The state of Kentucky argued that the law is “straightforward” and simply requires that abortion-seekers are presented with “truthful, non-misleading and relevant” information. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with that assertion and upheld the law earlier this year.
However, the groups challenging the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the requirements infringe on abortion-seekers’ rights, including their 1st Amendment rights.
“By refusing to review the 6th Circuit’s ruling, the Supreme Court has rubber-stamped extreme political interference in the doctor-patient relationship,” ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project senior staff attorney Alexa Kolbi-Molinas said in a statement. “This law is not only unconstitutional, but as leading medical experts and ethicists explained, deeply unethical.”
The Supreme Court did not make any comment on the law in its decision. The high court’s refusal to consider the Kentucky law comes as legal challenges to the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade intensify via laws deeply restricting abortion passed in Ohio and other states.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2019.