A law banning some second-trimester abortions in Kentucky has been temporarily blocked after abortion activists took legal action.
Governor Matt Bevin recently signed a law which banned a common abortion procedure known as ‘dilation and evacuation’, described as “barbaric and inhumane”.
The law was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued Kentucky on the grounds that it would block access to abortion in the state.
‘Barbaric’
The Governor’s Communications Director Elizabeth Kuhn said ACLU’s challenge was “disturbing” as the new law served to protect the unborn from a “gruesome practice”.
ACLU argued that the law would ban almost all abortions after twelve weeks in the state.
Abortion providers violating the law would face up to five years in prison.
Steve Pitt, an attorney representing the state, said the case needed to be decided quickly to “stop this horrific and barbaric practice”.
Side effects
The ACLU claims the procedure is ‘safe’ and that the ban “disregards a woman’s health”, but the procedure carries a number of serious side effects.
A woman may experience severe pain, infection, fever, severe bleeding, sudden abdominal swelling or increased heart rate, lengthy spells of vomiting, and feelings of guilt, grief and sadness.
Last year, Governor Bevin signed another pro-life law which banned all abortions after 20 weeks, except where the mother’s life is in danger.
