Attorney General Curtis Hill this week asked a federal appeals court to uphold states’ authority to regulate abortion clinics. He and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost are leading a 16-state coalition supporting the constitutionality of a Kentucky law requiring abortion clinics to maintain transfer-and-transport agreements with local hospitals. These arrangements enable quick access to higher-level medical care for patients who might experience emergencies or complications at clinics.
The Kentucky provision existed for 19 years without issue. Then, hospitals in the Louisville area disassociated themselves from abortion clinics and ended the transfer-and-transport agreements. At that point, the clinics filed a lawsuit claiming the law created undue burdens for women wanting abortions.
A federal district court accepted the clinics’ reasoning and declared the law unconstitutional. The 16-state brief asks the appeals court to reverse that decision.
Rather than being overregulated, abortion clinics in Kentucky actually face fewer rules than other medical facilities, Attorney General Hill noted. Kentucky’s ambulatory surgical centers not only must maintain the transfer-and-transport agreements but also must staff their facilities with physicians who have admitting privileges at area hospitals.
“Under the Constitution, states have the authority to pass and enforce reasonable laws,†Attorney General Hill said. “Requiring abortion clinics to maintain basic health and safety standards falls well within a state’s prerogative.â€
