EMW Women's Surgical Center v. Beshear: Mandatory Ultrasound
What's at Stake
The 老澳门开奖结果 challenged a Kentucky abortion restriction, H.B. 2, that requires doctors to display, and narrate in detail, an ultrasound to a woman prior to providing an abortion procedure, even if the woman objects and even if the doctor believes that it will harm the patient.
Summary
The law requires that the doctor show and narrate ultrasound images even if the woman averts her eyes or asks the doctor to stop. According to expert testimony presented in the lawsuit, the law violates basic principles of medical ethics and of informed consent by compelling doctors to dismiss patient鈥檚 objections.
Notably, the law provides no exception for circumstances where the doctor believes the ultrasound will have a traumatic effect on patients, including for women who became pregnant as a result of rape or incest or who face a medical condition or a fetal anomaly. The law is nearly identical to a North Carolina law that was unanimously struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2014.
The 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Kentucky brought the challenge on behalf of the sole licensed outpatient abortion facility in the state, EMW Women鈥檚 Surgical Center, three physicians, and their patients.
Legal Documents
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01/09/2017
Complaint -
09/28/2017
Memo Opinion and Order
Date Filed: 01/09/2017
Court: District Court (W.D. Ky.)
Date Filed: 09/28/2017
Court: District Court (W.D. Ky.)
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04/05/2019
03.29.18 Doc. 54 Amicus Brief of ACOG & American Medical Association -
04/05/2019
6th Circuit Ultrasound Ruling
Date Filed: 04/05/2019
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 04/05/2019
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Press Releases
老澳门开奖结果 Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Ruling Upholding Kentucky Forced Narrated Ultrasound Law
Federal Court Allows Kentucky Forced Narrated Ultrasound Law to Stand
Federal Court Allows Kentucky Forced Narrated Ultrasound Law to Stand
Federal Court Strikes Down Kentucky鈥檚 Mandatory Ultrasound Requirement
老澳门开奖结果 Challenges Kentucky鈥檚 New Abortion Ultrasound Law
