A Kentucky judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by three Jewish mothers who argued that the state's near-total abortion ban violated the religious freedoms of those who believe life begins at birth, not conception. On Friday evening, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Brian Edwards said the group of women lacked standing to bring the case and sided with the state's attorney general, who defended the state's abortion laws. In Kentucky, abortions are banned in almost all circumstances except in cases when a pregnant woman's life is in imminent danger of death or permanent injury.
The plaintiffs — Lisa Sobel, Jessica Kalb and Sarah Baron — filed a suit in 2022 on the grounds that the state's ban not only endangered their health but was at odds with their Jewish faith. The suit largely centered around in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and whether it would be illegal for women in Kentucky to discard embryos created by IVF that were not yet implanted. Sobel and Kalb are both mothers who conceived using IVF.
Kalb had nine embryos in storage, but did not plan to have nine more children. Meanwhile, Baron, who was 37 at the time of the lawsuit filing, said the state's ban discouraged her from attempting to have more children and risk pregnancy complications. Kentucky's attorney general's office argued that it was clear IVF treatments and the destruction of embryos in private clinics were permissible under state law.
But state lawmakers have yet to pass any explicit protections. Judge Edwards .
