Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which covers Tennessee, put a final nail in the coffin in Governor Lee’s approach to protecting life beginning with the heartbeat. The governor’s “laddered” abortion bill effectively authorizes the federal courts to decide at which of ten stages of fetal development abortion can be prohibited, beginning with a heartbeat. The appellate court held that dismemberment abortions, which usually begin around 15 weeks, could not be banned under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Since the governor’s bill also relies on Roe and Casey as the applicable legal precedents, it is hard to believe that any provision in it below 15 weeks would be allowed. As for the possibly of the Supreme Court hearing an appeal, last year it unanimously refused to hear an appeal of an identical decision from the Fifth Circuit.
 

News Sources

Kentucky law banning gruesome dismemberment abortions can’t be enforced, court reaffirms
Life Site News

Federal appeals court affirms the rejection of a Kentucky abortion law
Courier Journal

Kentucky Ban on Second Trimester Abortions Struck Down by the Courts
Daily Citizen

Petition
Supreme Court of the United States

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