Kentucky state supreme court allows near total abortion ban to stand

Kentucky's near total abortion ban will continue after the state's supreme court did not rule against it on Thursday, sending it back to the lower courts for further consideration.

The court rejected the standing of abortion providers who sued the state, saying that they did not have standing to sue on behalf of their patients.

“To be clear, this opinion does not in any way determine whether the Kentucky Constitution protects or does not protect the right to receive an abortion, as no appropriate party to raise that issue is before us,” Deputy Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert wrote. “Nothing in this opinion shall be construed to prevent an appropriate party from filing suit at a later date.”

Lambert also said the law could be challenged on constitutional grounds.

A lower court had blocked the law temporarily, but an appeals court reversed that ruling, which was then appealed to the state's supreme court.

For now, though, the law's restrictions will continue.