Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

The Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a ruling last week that effectively keeps the doors closed on Lexington's only remaining abortion clinic. When the Cabinet for Families and Children inspected EMW Women's clinic earlier this year, they found unsanitary conditions. They also found it was unlicensed. The Cabinet filed suit to stop the business from performing abortions until it met state regulations. As a result, EMW has been closed all summer. The Supreme Court said in its lengthy ruling that  “EMW has failed to demonstrate why it should be exempt from licensure as an abortion facility. EMW exists solely to perform abortions and offers little to no proof it does anything else other than performing that service in potentially substandard conditions, proving precisely why the Commonwealth requires these facilities to be licensed in the first place.”