Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kentucky Could Become First State Without An Abortion Clinic, Depending On Trial
Attorneys for Kentucky鈥檚 last abortion clinic said as a federal trial opened Wednesday that state regulators are using 鈥渙nerous鈥 rules to try to shut it down, predicting some women would 鈥渢ake the matter into their own hands鈥 to end pregnancies if the state succeeds.鈥 There will be no abortions in Kentucky if they win,鈥 clinic attorney Donald L. Cox said as proceedings began in a court case that could determine whether Kentucky becomes the nation鈥檚 first state without an abortion clinic. (Schreiner, 9/6)
In the 37 years that Dr. Ernest Marshall has been performing abortions in Kentucky, he has seen more than a dozen clinics close in the state. He is now facing off against the governor in a legal fight that will decide whether Kentucky becomes the first state in the nation without an abortion clinic. State regulators tried to shut down EMW Women鈥檚 Surgical Center in March over allegations that the facility, which Marshall founded in downtown Louisville in 1981, does not have adequate agreements in place with a local hospital and an ambulance service in case a patient needs to be transferred. (Zavis, 9/6)