Kentucky’s abortion ban remains intact to protect babies from abortions after the ACLU of Kentucky withdrew its lawsuit challenging the pro-life law.
The dismissal ensures that abortions will continue to be banned in nearly all cases, except to save the mother’s life or prevent severe injury.
The lawsuit, Poe v. Coleman, filed in November 2024 in Jefferson County Circuit Court, targeted Kentucky’s trigger law and six-week abortion ban, enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The trigger law bans abortions except in life-threatening situations or to prevent permanent injury, offering no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomalies.
The plaintiff, a Louisville woman using the pseudonym Mary Poe, argued the bans violated her constitutional rights, even though there is no right to abortion in the Constitution. The ACLU of Kentucky, representing her, sought class-action status to include all pregnant Kentuckians unable to have abortions.
On May 30, 2025, the ACLU voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without specifying a reason, though executive director Amber Duke reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to abortions.
Pro-life leaders hailed the outcome as a triumph for Kentucky’s commitment to life.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, a defendant in the case, vigorously defended the bans, arguing they reflect the state’s values. In a November 2024 statement reported by LifeNews.com, Coleman’s office called the ACLU’s lawsuit “baseless” and a “desperate attempt to impose a radical abortion agenda.” On X, Coleman celebrated the dismissal, stating, “Kentucky’s pro-life laws stand strong, protecting innocent lives and reflecting the will of our people.”
In 2023, the state Supreme Court ruled that abortion businesses lacked standing to sue on behalf of potential customers, prompting the ACLU and Planned Parenthood to file Poe v. Coleman with a pregnant plaintiff. A prior suit by a woman identified as Jane Doe was dropped in December 2023 after her embryo was deemed nonviable, highlighting the legal challenges of challenging the bans.
Kentucky’s laws have slashed abortions. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services reported just 23 abortions in 2023, all deemed medically necessary, compared to 4,441 in 2021 when abortion was fully legal. Pro-life advocates view this as evidence of the bans’ success in protecting unborn lives.
