Kentucky currently does not have access to abortions. The state’s two only abortion providers suspended their operations, while they challenged a new law they claim makes it difficult for them legally to offer abortions.
The law—House Bill 3, passed in March—made abortion illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This law, House Bill 3, also imposed new restrictions regarding abortion provisions before this cutoff. It included a ban against abortion pills being sent in the mail and any other form of delivery outside a physician’s office.
The Louisville Times reports that instead of the patient visiting a doctor in person, she must be advised that her procedure could be reversed after taking the first pill. This is an assertion made by medical organizations and not supported by any evidence. Courier Journal.
Although the 15-week ban received the most media attention, it is the other provisions which make it difficult for Kentucky’s abortion centers to remain open at all. According to the providers, The state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services must create an extensive certification process for those who make, ship, or dispense abortion pills.
Tamarra Wieder (Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood), stated to the Associated Press that “we cannot comply with many, many many, many of the burdens in the bill.”
That’s in part because the regulations took effect immediately—before the processes for complying with them were even in place.
The law states that all providers must be registered and certified by the state to be able to dispense abortion medication. Heather Gatnarek from the American Civil Liberties Union in Kentucky said that the program has not been created yet and therefore providers cannot be certified.
The same applies to abortions. There are also additional forms that must be completed, such as the form for regular reporting that is sent to the state after each procedure.
The updated form is not yet available. These provisions contain many different penalties. The bill is 72 pages long, which means that there are many requirements. You can expect financial penalties ranging from civil liability to Class D felonies in Kentucky, punishable for up to 5 years. Some of these provisions may also lead to the loss of licensure.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (a Democrat) vetoed April 8th legislation
The governor’s veto was overridden by the GOP-controlled General Assembly.
Kentucky House overrides HB3. Kentuckians want to be heard #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/Er88gMdgif
— KHJN (@KyHealthJustice) April 13, 2022
Now, Kentucky’s two abortion providers—Planned Parenthood and EMW Women’s Surgical Services, both located in Louisville—are challenging the law in federal court, in two separate lawsuits. ACLU represents EMW Women’s Surgical Services.
In a press release, the ACLU states that lawsuits claim the law creates unnecessary abortion requirements and simultaneously makes those requirements difficult to comply with due to the law’s immediate effectiveness date. This forces providers in the state not to offer abortion services. It is impossible for patients to adhere to the law and it constitutes a de facto ban on abortion. Wade.”
#HB3 also contains an emergency clause that puts it into effect immediately–that’s one of the reasons we’re asking the court for emergency relief.
Healthcare providers would not be able to meet their obligations without relief because they are dependent on state programs which do not exist yet.
— ACLU of Kentucky (@ACLUofKY) April 13, 2022
“The Kentucky legislature was encouraged by the similar 15-week ban before the Supreme Court, and other states having abortion bans in the United States, such as in Florida or Oklahoma,” Brigitte, the deputy director of ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project said in a statement. “We ask the court to immediately block this law so that Kentuckyans can still access abortion care.
EMW Women’s Surgical Services has ceased to operate for Planned Parenthood, and Planned Parenthood. Kentucky is now without access to abortion.
Nicole Erwin spokeswoman at Planned Parenthood. She stated that “we will not provide abortion care until relief is granted by the court.” Patients seeking abortion treatment in Kentucky should still contact us to schedule their initial appointment. We can then coordinate care in Indiana and other states that could provide it.
FREE MARKETS
Travel masks are “illegal”A federal judge from Florida has spoken out. Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, U.S. District Judge, has ruled against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement that passengers wear masks when traveling on trains, buses, subways, and planes. Mizelle wrote in her ruling that “our system doesn’t permit agencies to act illegally even in pursuits of desirable ends.”
Notes: “Mizelle’s decision immediately halts the mandate. However, the government can ask the court for a stay of the judgment until an appeal is filed.” There are reasonsRobby Soave, CDC. It’s unclear how long the CDC intends to maintain the mandate in either situation. It was initially scheduled to expire today. But, the agency extended the mandate for an additional two weeks.
FREE MINDS
A great thread on social media, and how average people use it in comparison to the chattering class discontents who do.
All due respect. @JonHaidtIt is becoming increasingly clear to me that these pieces are not about social media corruption but rather an extension of frustration and confusion within the elite onto society. ???? 1/7 https://t.co/cbXSER8PU5
— Christian Hoffmann (@cphoffmann) April 18, 2022
Christian Hoffman is a Professor at the University of Leipzig,It is also noted that only a fraction of social media activities involve politics and that many social media users use it to connect with their families and keep up-to-date on local news. The elite might be better to look at their own lives and not project the strange experiences they have on society in order to understand why we are having a crisis of public discourse. Hoffman commented. Hoffman comments.
QUICK HITS
• President Joe Biden has declared that materials used in federally-funded infrastructure projects must be produced in the U.S.
• Book banners are targeting public libraries and publishing houses.
• Richard Bernard Moore, a 57-year-old man on death row in South Carolina, has opted to die by firing squad. Moore was offered the choice between an electric chair and firing squad as the state had difficulty obtaining the necessary drugs for lethal injections. Moore stated that the state is forcing him to decide between “two unconstitutional execution methods.”
• “U.S. immigration officials detained more than 5,000 Reports: “Migrants from Ukraine at Ukraine’s Land, Sea and Air Borders in March.” The Washington Post. “Many Ukrainians were released in the United States by humanitarian parole. It allows individuals to remain temporarily. They continued to arrive this month even though no updated numbers were available.
• Social media language is adapting to thwart policies that down-rank discussions of certain topics. Taylor Lorenz notes that it is common for people to use the terms “unalive” instead of “dead”, or “SA” instead of “sexual assault,” in online videos.
• InfowarsHas filed for bankruptcy
• Flavored tobacco bans don’t work.
• New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he’s once again considering putting metal detectors in subways.
• Florida’s rejected math textbook brouhaha “is perhaps the quintessential deployment of CRT as a right-wing bugaboo,” suggests Philip Bump at The Washington Posst. “The state rejected a number of math textbooks and issued a news release citing critical race theory as a rationale for at least some of those rejections—and then didn’t bother to demonstrate how those books actually incorporated critical race theory. The political benefits are all there; the administrative work is irrelevant.”
• In Kansas, “Democratic Gov. The Associated Press reports that Laura Kelly vetoed the conservative Republicans’ ban on transgender women athletes participating in sports. Kelly also rejected a GOP proposal to allow parents to request materials be removed from schools.