20-State Coalition Files Amicus Brief in Support of Attorney General Cameron’s Defense of Kentucky’s Live Dismemberment Abortion Ban Law

FRANKFORT, Ky. (December 9, 2020) – A 20-state coalition of attorneys general, led by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, this week filed an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in support of Attorney General Cameron’s ability to defend Kentucky’s law banning live dismemberment abortions (House Bill 454).

“The General Assembly put an end to the gruesome practice of live dismemberment abortions when they passed House Bill 454, and this law should continue to receive a full defense in court, rather than being invalidated because of the decision of one public official,” said Attorney General Cameron.  “I’m grateful to my colleagues for recognizing the importance of allowing our office to defend the constitutionality of Kentucky’s laws, and I’m grateful to General Brnovich for leading the coalition in filing this brief.”

The amicus brief supports Attorney General Cameron’s petition for writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court, which asks the court to review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to allow the Attorney General to defend House Bill 454.  The law bans the Dilation and Evacuation procedure (D&E) on a living unborn child, which involves tearing a living child apart while in the womb.

Attorney General Cameron’s team argued in defense of the law on behalf of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) earlier this year before the Sixth Circuit.  The Sixth Circuit upheld a permanent injunction against the law, and when CHFS Secretary Eric Friedlander chose not to appeal, Attorney General Cameron moved to intervene to ensure the law continued to receive a full defense all the way through the United States Supreme Court.

The 20-state amicus brief argues that by denying the Attorney General’s request to defend the law, the Sixth Circuit “allowed the unilateral capitulation of a single unelected official to be the final word on whether a duly enacted law of Kentucky would be invalidated (and thus de facto repealed)…even though another Kentucky official—its Attorney General, who has unquestioned authority to represent Kentucky in federal court—sought to defend the constitutionality of the statute on the merits.”

Since being sworn into office late last year, Attorney General Cameron has vigorously defended Kentucky’s laws against legal challenges.  Most recently, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky granted the Attorney General’s motion to intervene in defense of Kentucky’s fetal heartbeat law (Senate Bill 9) and abortion discrimination ban (House Bill 5).

To view a copy of the 20-state amicus brief filed by attorneys general from Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, click here.

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