Frankfort, Ky. (June 18, 2020) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today continued his unwavering defense of the unborn by asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to rehear a case involving a Kentucky law that bans live-dismemberment abortions. Attorney General Cameron tendered a Petition for Rehearing asking the case to be reheard en banc by all sixteen judges of the court.
House Bill 454, known as the Human Rights of Unborn Children Act, was passed in 2018 by the General Assembly and requires abortion providers to ensure that an unborn child dies before beginning the gruesome dismemberment abortion procedure. The bill does not ban the controversial abortion procedure, but, instead, requires that the procedure is performed in a more humane manner. The bill was passed with bipartisan support and was immediately challenged by the ACLU on behalf of EMW Women’s Surgical Center.
“We’re exhausting every possible option to ensure that this law continues to be defended and is ultimately enforced,” said Attorney General Cameron. “The law extends compassion and dignity to the unborn by ensuring they are not subjected to the horror and pain of the dismemberment process while still alive. We would never allow the dismemberment of any other living being, and we are going to continue fighting, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, so that it can’t happen to unborn children.”
In January, Attorney General Cameron defended the law before a three-judge panel on behalf of the Beshear Administration’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander. The panel struck down the law 2-1 earlier this month, with Judge John Bush dissenting.
The Beshear Administration decided not to challenge the panel’s divided ruling, leading Attorney General Cameron to file a Motion to Intervene in the case to ensure the law continues to receive a full defense.
To view the Petition for Rehearing, click here