The 8-1 high court decision allows Cameron to defend KY House Bill 454, which bans dilation and evacuation abortions, a standard procedure performed during the second trimester of pregnancy.
"We now have the green light to defend the law, and defend the law we will. We will return to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and ask for reconsideration of its adverse ruling on House Bill 454."Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
ACLU of Kentucky spokesman Sam Crankshaw, says the original case — Cameron vs EMW Women’s Surgical Center — is an attempt to “push abortion care out of reach for all Kentuckians.” Crankshaw added that the ruling out of Washington doesn't end the use of the procedure in Kentucky.
"It's important to know that this law is still blocked in federal court and is not in effect," he told WUKY. "Kentuckians can still access abortion care in Kentucky, and it is still legal in Kentucky to seek that care."
Asked Thursday about the lopsided ruling clearing the way for Cameron to pursue his ongoing defense of the abortion restriction, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear offered no opinion on the case itself — only noting that the top law enforcement official is taking the cause on by himself after previous courts found the law unconstitutional.
"The attorney general said I want to continue and I am going to try to do it on my own, and the Cabinet (for Health and Family Services) said ok and didn't oppose that at all. So now the Supreme Court has ruled that can continue. It can continue," Beshear told reporters during a regular briefing.
Despite the governor’s dispassionate response, a decision for Cameron could have major consequences – with The Hill noting it could pave the way for conservative officials across the country to defend anti-abortion rights legislation in cases where the governor declines to.
