Cameron v. EMW Women's Surgical Center, P.S.C.

Plaintiffs claim that the state’s near-total ban (triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe) violates the state constitution’s 1) right to privacy as contained in guarantees of liberty (§§ 1(1), 1(3), 2); 2) liberty right to self-determination (§§ 1(1), 1(3), 2); 3) prohibition on unlawful delegation of legislative authority to define the scope of Kentucky criminal law (§§ 27–29); 4) prohibition on enacting a ban that doesn’t require the Kentucky General Assembly’s approval to take effect (§ 60); 5) guarantee of due process — the law is insufficiently clear (§ 2); and 6) prohibition on unintelligible laws (§ 27–29). Plaintiffs also claim that the state’s six-week ban violates the state constitution’s 1) right to privacy as contained in guarantees of liberty (§§ 1(1), 1(3), 2) and 2) liberty right to self-determination (§§ 1(1), 1(3), 2).

After a trial court preliminarily blocked the bans, an intermediate appeals court reversed the trial court, allowing the bans to take effect. The Kentucky Supreme Court then declined to reinstate the temporary injunction, reasoning that the plaintiffs did not have standing to assert the rights of their patients and could not bring related constitutional claims against the six-week and near-total bans while declining to address whether the Kentucky Constitution protects abortion. The Court, however, concluded that the plaintiffs did have standing to bring non-delegation and General Assembly approval claims against the near-total ban on behalf of themselves, and remanded the case to the trial court. The parties then agreed to the dismissal of the case.