Kentucky Six-Week Abortion Law Challenge Halted for SCOTUS Case

Abortion providers in Kentucky convinced a federal court to continue pausing their challenge to a state law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy because a case pending in the U.S. Supreme Court undoubtedly will affect it.

The decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky means the state can’t enforce its so-called “heartbeat” law for now, because a March 2019 order blocking it will remain in effect until EMW Women’s Surgical Center’s case challenging the law’s validity is decided.

But the provider’s separate challenge to a state law that would bar abortions for reasons such ...