While US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings pressed pause on House Bill 3 — containing Kentucky's newest abortion restrictions — she did so because she agreed that Planned Parenthood needed more time to determine which new provisions clinics were able to comply with immediately.
But the state's other abortion provider, EMW Women's Surgical Center, was left unclear on whether the judge's ruling also halted a 15-week abortion ban included in the legislation.
The Courier Journalreports that, for now, EMW, is turning away patients who are 15 weeks pregnant or more while they await clarification on whether the judge's hold applies to that portion of the law. EMW is the only provider that offers abortions after 15 weeks in Kentucky.
A separate law bans the procedure at 20 weeks.
EMW tells the Journal that so far it's denied abortion services to at least 23 patients since the new abortion restrictions cleared the General Assembly.
