LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a new lawsuit, three Jewish women have come forward to challenge Kentucky's abortion ban, claiming the law discriminates against their faith.
This lawsuit is different because it focuses on the new law's potential restrictions on in vitro fertilization (IVF).
When people with a uterus use IVF to conceive, multiple fertilized embryos are implanted and the most viable one is chosen. The others are then discarded.
In 2019, Lisa Sobel was one of 83,946 women who are now mothers, thanks to fertility treatment.
“I am so thankful that I have a little girl and she's amazing and so wonderful, and I wouldn't have it any other way,” Sobel said.
She says it wasn't easy or cheap, but she wants to do it again to bring her now three-year-old a sibling.
“We don't think, right now that's a possibility because of the law, the way it is,” Sobel said.
Kentucky's newly enacted laws ban nearly all abortions except in cases where there is risk of death or substantial risk of death to the mother.
“There are a lot of unintended consequences behind the patchwork of laws,” Sobel said.
It’s a law she's trying to change. On Thursday, she and two other Jewish womenーJessica Kalb and Sarah Baronーannounced they're suing attorney general Daniel Cameron's office, claiming Kentucky's abortion laws discriminates against their faith.
“I’m praying with my feet as Rabbi Heschel would say, and I'm putting my face and my name and my story out there,” Sobel said.
According to the lawsuit "a fetus is deserving of some level of respect under [Jewish law], the birth giver takes precedence. Jews have never believed that life begins at conception."
“It’s unfair. It's unjust that my freedoms taken away this way. And, I don’t think I should have to choose between starting a family and keeping myself safe,” plaintiff Jessica Kalb said during a Thursday press conference.
There are currently similar suits filed in Indiana and Florida, though in Kentucky, all the plaintiffs have decided to put a face, and name to the issue.
“This isn't about me. This isn't about Sarah. This isn't about Jessica. This is about all women in Kentucky who would like the opportunity to have their family and grow their family,” Sobel said.
When WHAS11 reached out to the attorney general’s office, Thursday, it provided the following statement: “The General Assembly has made it clear that Kentucky will protect unborn life and these laws are an important part of the Commonwealth.”
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