LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit to block a new Kentucky law putting more restrictions on abortions.
The ACLU filed the suit this week shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed the measure, which took effect immediately.
The law bans a common second trimester abortion procedure known as "dilation and evacuation."
The procedure was used in 537 of 3,312 abortions done in Kentucky in 2016, according to state statistics. During legislative debates, the bill's supporters called the procedure "gruesome".
The ACLU says the law disregards a woman's private medical decisions "in favor of a narrow, ideological agenda."
It says the law forces women to either leave the state to undergo the procedure or forego the care.
