The Threat to Abortion in Kentucky

                One of the most polarized issues in politics today is directly involved with women’s sexuality: abortion. We’ve touched briefly on abortion in class, talking about who’s decision it is and why. As Kentucky’s last abortion clinic fights to remain open this week, I thought this topic might deserve some attention.

                Abortion has been a polarizing issue since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. When the Supreme Court agreed that women had the right to an abortion under the 14^th amendment, it changed how states were able to regulate abortions. After 1973, they could only regulate them during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Abortion has long been regarded, at least by the liberals, as a woman’s reproductive right.

While birth control has become more accessible to women over time, it is not always effective. That can leave a woman in a bind, with an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. Even before abortion was legalized, many women had unauthorized abortions. These procedures were not always safe, making some women sterile and sometimes causing a woman to die from complications. By legalizing abortion, it has allowed the medical profession to step in and safely preform these procedures, causing the complication and mortality rates to go down.

However, there is still a large opposition to legalized abortion, including the very prevalent religious conservatives. Part of this can be seen by how few hospitals perform abortions and how many abortion clinics are in each state. For example, in Kentucky many of the hospitals are affiliated with religious groups. In Louisville, some of the major hospitals include Baptist Health, Jewish, and St. Mary’s and Elizabeth. Most hospitals affiliated with religious groups or donors refuse to perform abortions unless the life of the mother is in immediate danger. This makes it difficult for women to have access to abortion, which is where the clinics step in.

Abortion clinics are contentious in nature. They are there to perform the surgery the hospital might disagree with. However, they might have to have contracts with local hospitals for emergency transportation and admission of their patient in case something goes wrong. This makes it harder for clinics to exist, especially in states with a large conservative population.

In the past few weeks, Kentucky’s last abortion clinic’s future has been up in the air. Governor Matt Bevin’s administration told the EMW Women’s Surgical Center they lacked the proper agreements with local hospitals for patient care in case of emergency, even though the agreements were approved last year. The clinic sued to stay open, claiming it was an attempt to ban abortion in Kentucky. This would impact many women’s ability to access an abortion, mimicking the lack of access to birth control in the past.

I work in downtown Louisville and I have to pass the EMW Women’s Surgical Center on my way. Last Saturday, in the wake of the attempt to close it and the lawsuit, there were more protesters than usual. They had graphic signs about the “horrors” of abortion. There were also more volunteers that escort women into the building than I’ve seen recently at the building, at least 20. While abortion might not seem like a direct issue in sexuality, it is when women have little options concerning both birth control and abortion. Accessibility has been a constant struggle we looked at throughout class, and this is yet another way to make medical help that deals with sexuality less accessible.

Here's the link to the Courier Journal article about the EMW Women's Surgical Center:
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/29/kys-last-abortion-clinic-sues-stay-open/99412244/