Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the challenge to Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law. “This is the best possible news defenders of life in the womb could receive! It is bad news for EMW Abortion facility and for Louisville Planned Parenthood,” stated KRLA President Diana Maldonado.

Thank you to Governor Matt Bevin for defending this law at the Appellate level and at the highest level. Tomorrow, Kentucky’s new Governor will be sworn in to office. Andy Beshear refused to defend the Ultrasound law when he was the Attorney General.

As reported by AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions.

The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law on behalf of Kentucky’s lone remaining abortion clinic. The ACLU argued that “display and describe” ultrasound laws violate physicians’ speech rights under the First Amendment...

Read more.

In the going-on-nearly-three-years legal challenge to Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law (HB2) of 2017, a new document was filed in late October. Due to the General Election focus, we initially missed this announcement by Gov. Bevin.

Plaintiffs did not accept the victory for the Ultrasound Law that the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court handed down last April, and asked the Court for an “en banc” review of the decision. The Court declined, so Plaintiffs asked SCOTUS to issue a Writ of Certiorari. That would force the entire “bench” of the Sixth Circuit to review the decision.

The attorneys in Bevin’s Administration and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services who are defending the law, since AG Beshear refused to, filed an opposing brief in late October, asking that the petition for the Writ be denied. Their brief delineates the issue:

The “Question Presented” that is viewed as requiring “better judgment” is: Whether the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the Commonwealth of Kentucky from regulating the practice of medicine by requiring a medical professional, prior to performing a medical procedure, to provide the patient with information that is truthful, non-misleading, and relevant to the procedure.

Kentucky’s 33-page brief explains why there is no Circuit conflict over the question and no recurring question it needs to resolve, and that the Appeals Court ruling is correct.

They point out that the petitioners (EMW) argue that HB2 is not an informed-consent law. They say a disclosure requirement cannot be considered valid unless it is consistent with the informed-consent preferences of special interest groups like the National Abortion Federation and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The link to the brief is in the bulletin from Gov. Bevin, shared above.

Our pro-life attorney team has done a superb job of summing up for SCOTUS what is going on in the case. But, with the General Election results, will this wonderful team be in place to address any new challenges? If not, we want to again commend them for their dedicated work to save lives. If AG-elect Daniel Cameron is called on to complete their work, we wish him Godspeed.

Cameron has appointed Steve Pitt, Gov. Bevin's General Counsel, as his counsel and special advisor. Attorney Pitt served as chief litigator for Kentucky's Defense against the legal suits challenging our pro-life laws.

Once again Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law is under fire. For background, see here.

UPDATES on Oct. 1: SCOTUS will decide this week whether to review any pro-life cases. Read more. | Virginia Judge Upholds Ultrasound Law

A C-J article slants toward the overturn of the Ultrasound Law. Excerpt below. Stay tuned.

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Kentucky abortion law that requires doctors to perform an ultrasound of the fetus and attempt to show it, describe it and play an audio of the heartbeat to the patient prior to the procedure…

The 2017 law is among half a dozen laws aimed at restricting or eliminating abortion in Kentucky passed in recent years by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin, an anti-abortion Republican who is seeking a second term….

Read more.

In a major pro-life victory for Gov. Matt Bevin and the people of the Commonwealth, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today denied EMW Women's Surgical Center's petition for rehearing of the House Bill 2 ultrasound case.

In April, the Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of HB 2 (2017), which requires an abortion provider to provide mothers with an ultrasound and a description of what it depicts, as well as the opportunity to hear the fetal heartbeat, before she chooses to terminate her pregnancy.

Earlier this month, the Louisville abortion clinic asked the Court to rehear the case en banc (before the entire bench) in a desperate attempt to undermine the Kentucky law, which passed with the support of more than 87 percent of state legislators.

Read more.

The Courier-Journal quoted the ACLU attorney from NY who called the law ‘medically unnecessary’ and not supported by medical groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association. Read more.

In the linked video, Gov. Bevin discusses the victory!

On June 11 the Bevin Administration filed a court document to oppose the petition filed by the EMW Clinic and ACLU challenging the successful Appeal that enforced HB 2, Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law.

EMW/ACLU wants their “do-over” case to be heard by the full court of judges— 28 in all.

Steve Pitt, General Counsel for Gov. Bevin, has stated:

"Rehearing a case en banc is an extraordinary legal procedure, not simply a flippant opportunity for a do-over. In this case, the panel majority faithfully applied the relevant Supreme Court precedent to determine that the legislation at issue is constitutional. Thus, granting en banc rehearing is neither warranted under the rules nor a useful investment of the Court's time.”

Read more.

Read the response of Adam Meier, Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, to the EMW/ACLU appeal here.

AG Beshear has refused to be involved in the case.

For background on the Ultrasound Law continuing legal case, see this post and this page.

The EMW-ACLU Appeal to overturn the Bevin Administration’s successful Appeal to save Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law— is pending and may be read by anyone who desires to have a PACER account. PACER stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records.

The opening pages of the EMW-ACLU Appeal list all the attorneys who are working on the case. Then, a Statement of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests asks two questions:

1. Is said party (EMW) a subsidiary or affiliate of a publicly-owned corporation?
   Answer: No.
2. Is there a publicly-owned corporation, not a party to the appeal that has a financial interest in the outcome of this litigation?
   Answer: No.

Shouldn’t there be a third question?

3. Is there a publicly-funded corporation that will benefit from this Appeal if it succeeds?

Answer: Yes, Planned Parenthood receives $500 million annually from the U.S. taxpayers and will certainly benefit if this Appeal succeeds.

And how about a fourth question?
4. Is there an innocent public group who will be harmed financially if this Appeal succeeds?
Answer: Yes, the taxpayers of Kentucky will be the losers, since they will pay the tab for the extensive legal work performed by numerous attorneys from the ACLU of New York, the ACLU of Kentucky, and a law firm from New York, not to mention all the attorneys working for EMW since the suit was first filed— following the passage of HB2 in 2017 by the Kentucky Legislature.

Of course, a new Appeal could send the case to SCOTUS, so we assume it could take some time to determine who pays. We do not know all the legal ins and outs.

And another question:
5. Who pays the ACLU?
Not EMW. The ACLU does not charge its clients for its services. So, EMW can thank George Soros and others who donate to the ACLU for helping them to pursue their Appeal.

But maybe the full panel of the Sixth Circuit will turn down the Appeal. Watch for more news.

Our celebration about the successful Appeal of the Bevin administration to uphold Kentucky’s Ultrasound Law— was short-lived.

The Courier-Journal reports:

A Kentucky abortion clinic is asking a federal appeals court to rehear an appeal in the case of a state law that requires doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients prior to abortion.

A divided panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the 2017 law is constitutional, reversing a lower court judge.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, the state's only abortion provider, filed a petition Monday asking that the full appeals court hear the case. The petition cites a First Amendment issue of ‘exceptional importance.’

What a disappointment. Stay tuned. Stay strong.