Organization will resume funding abortions in Kentucky

In a July 25 email, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) informed the Kentucky Health Justice Network it would resume funding abortions in Kentucky, according to a Herald Leader report.

An abortion costs at least $700 in Kentucky, and those who can’t afford one can receive aid from NAF. The organization had paused funding abortions after the state’s trigger law initially took effect in late June, following the fall of Roe v. Wade. Kentucky’s trigger law bans all abortions except when the life of a pregnant person is at risk.

The state’s two remaining abortion providers — EMW Women’s Surgical Center and Planned Parenthood — sued, arguing Kentucky’s Constitution protects the right to an abortion.

Abortion was banned for a week before a judge issued an order last month allowing abortion to lawfully resume. After Judge Mitch Perry issued an injunction July 22, blocking the law for longer, did the NAF resume its funding of abortion services in Kentucky.

The ruling bans state agencies from enforcing the abortion ban while a lawsuit by EMW and Planned Parenthood challenging its merits works its way through the courts.