A Kentucky woman who sued to have an abortion, challenging the state’s virtual ban on the medical procedure, reports that her fetus no longer has a heartbeat, putting the viability of her challenge to the law into question, the Washington Post reports.
The ACLU of Kentucky filed the challenge to Kentucky’s law on the unnamed woman’s behalf when she was eight weeks pregnant, claiming the state ban on abortion access violated her rights to privacy and self-determination. Rated as one of the most restrictive states for abortion access in the country, Kentucky has the sixth-highest maternal fatality rate in the United States.
The suit attacks two pillars of Kentucky’s anti-abortion law: the provision that allows an abortion only for a medical emergency or a danger to the life of the mother, and the provision that allows an abortion up to the sixth week of pregnancy. “The bans and the irreparable harms they inflict are an affront to the health and dignity of all Kentuckians,” the lawsuit states. “Everyone who can become pregnant has a right to determine their own future and to make decisions about their relationships and life opportunities without government interference that puts their health and well-being at risk.”