LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Three Jewish women have a 25-page motion for a summary judgment in a lawsuit they have filed against Kentucky's abortion law.
This comes after the women sued attorney general Daniel Cameron's office back in October, claiming Kentucky's abortion laws discriminate against their faith.
According to court documents, Lisa Soble, Jessica Kalb and Sarah Brown have filed a motion for summary judgement saying "on the basis that there is no genuine issue to any material fact" and that they are "entitled to Judgement as a matter of law."
A summary judgment is a decision made based on statements and evidence without going to trial, so if the judge grants the order, the case will be complete. But if the judge doesn't, the case will continue.
This lawsuit 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, Sobel was one of 83,946 women who are now mothers, thanks to fertility treatment.
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."
Kentucky's enacted laws ban nearly all abortions except in cases where there is risk of death or substantial risk of death to the mother.
"Kentucky’s abortion laws violate Plaintiffs’ rights under the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Kentucky Constitution by imposing minority religious doctrines on those who do not believe them," Aaron Kemper, an attorney representing the women, said
Testimony in support of the summary judgment argues:
- Kentucky's abortion laws are void of vagueness
- Kentucky's abortion laws are void for unintelligibility
- Kentucky's abortion laws violate Kentucky's RFRA
- Kentucky's abortion laws substantially burden them from freedom of religion
- Kentucky's abortion laws fail to use the least restrictive means to further the state's interest in fetal life
- Kentucky's abortion laws denigrate Jews and Jewish Practice, are Sectarian Christian and thereby violate section five
- The diminished rights of Jews under abortion laws
- The enlarged rights of Evangelicals under the abortion laws
- The Commonwealth's founders drafted Section 5 to avoid this disaster
The summary judgment has just been filed. We will update this story with the judge's decision.
