The Supreme Court cleared the way for a Republican attorney general in Kentucky to step in to defend a controversial abortion law, after the Democratic governor declined to continue doing so.
The law restricts a standard second-trimester abortion method known as “dilation and evacuation” that is used after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was signed into law in 2018 but has so far been blocked by the courts.
The Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t address the constitutionality of the law. Instead, the dispute involved a procedural issue: whether the attorney general could step in to defend the law after other state officials said they would no longer pursue an appeal.
The court’s move revives the case at hand and will make it easier for states that elect their attorneys general to defend laws when a state official from an opposing party has a different viewpoint.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
