Judge rules woman suing over Kentucky’s abortion ban can use pseudonym

By Mark Vanderhoff

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — A judge has ruled that a Kentucky woman suing to overturn the state’s abortion ban can proceed using a pseudonym.

The woman, who is using the name Mary Poe, is pregnant and seeking an abortion and argues in her lawsuit that Kentucky’s abortion ban violates her constitutional rights.

Her attorneys are also seeking class-action status, noting that more than 4,000 women sought abortions in Kentucky each year before the ban took effect.

“There is a common question of law, which is whether these restrictive bans violate the Kentucky Constitution’s right to privacy, self-determination or bodily autonomy,” said Heather Gatnarek in court.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Tracy Davis granted the plaintiff’s request to proceed using a pseudonym and scheduled a hearing for January on the class action question.

Lawyers with the Kentucky office of attorney general are defending the state law and signaled their willingness to take the case to Kentucky’s Supreme Court, as they did with a prior challenge that was eventually tossed out.

“A court … cannot substitute its own policy choices for the General Assembly’s, specifically on that issue of whether an unborn child is a human being and deserves protection without violating the separation of powers,” said Lyndsey Keiser with the attorney general’s office.

Davis responded by saying she would let the Constitution be her guide.

“The whole crucible of justice and the, the whole point of having an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch is for a balancing,” Davis said.

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