Kentucky woman seeking court approval for abortion learned her embryo no longer has cardiac activity

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A pregnant woman in Kentucky who filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion has learned her embryo no longer has cardiac activity, her attorneys said Tuesday.

The plaintiff’s attorneys signaled their intent to continue the challenge to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban, but did not immediately comment on what effect the development would have on the lawsuit.

The complaint was filed last week in a state court in Louisville. The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, was seeking class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion. The suit filed last week said she was about eight weeks pregnant.

The flurry of individual women petitioning a court for permission for an abortion is the latest development since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.

Little is known about the Kentucky plaintiff. Her attorneys have insisted they would fiercely protect their client’s privacy, stressing that Jane Doe believes “everyone should have the right to make decisions privately and make decisions for their own families,” Amber Duke, executive director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said last week. Her legal team also declined to disclose whether Jane Doe still needed an abortion.

Instead, Jane Doe’s attorneys urged other women who are pregnant and seeking an abortion in the Bluegrass State to reach out if they are interested in joining the case. The lawsuit says Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban violates the plaintiff’s rights to privacy and self-determination under the state constitution.

“Jane Doe sought an abortion in Kentucky, and when she could not get one, she bravely came forward to challenge the state’s abortion ban,” ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project deputy director Brigitte Amiri said in a statement. “Although she decided to have an abortion, the government denied her the freedom to control her body. Countless Kentuckians face the same harm every day as the result of the abortion ban.”