A Kentuckian filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court challenging two of the Commonwealth’s abortion bans on behalf of herself and all pregnant Kentuckians seeking an abortion.

Jane Doe brings the class action to strike down the bans under the state constitutional right to privacy and self-determination.

“I am a proud Kentuckian and I love the life and family I have built here," Jane Doe said in a statement. "But I am angry that now that I am pregnant and do not want to be, the government is interfering in my private matters and blocking me from having an abortion. This is my decision—not the government’s or any other person’s. I am bringing this lawsuit because I firmly believe that everyone should have the ability to make their own decisions about their pregnancies. I hope this case will restore abortion access in Kentucky, if not for me then for the countless people in the future who deserve the autonomy to decide what is best for themselves and their families.”

The lawsuit comes just over a year after Kentuckians emphatically rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure that would have amended the state constitution to exclude the right to abortion.

A prior lawsuit on behalf of abortion providers representing their patients was filed in the days after Roe v. Wade was overturned challenging the same bans. After a trial court initially blocked the bans, Attorney General Daniel Cameron appealed the decision and a court allowed the bans to go into effect. The case ultimately made its way to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, which issued a ruling in February saying that abortion providers could not raise the constitutional rights of their patients in cases brought in Kentucky courts.


View legal documents and court orders in the menu at the bottom of this page.

Attorney(s)

Brigette Amiri, ACLU

Pro Bono Law Firm(s)

ACLU, ACLU of Kentucky

Date filed

December 8, 2023

Court

Jefferson County Circuit Court

Status

Dismissed

Press releases and legal documents

Press Releases

Follow the Case

December 8, 2023: Kentucky Woman Files Class-Action Lawsuit Against Two Abortion Bans

A Kentucky woman filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court challenging two of the Commonwealth’s abortion bans. Read more.

December 12, 2023: Update on Kentucky Class-Action Lawsuit

Attorneys informed a Kentucky court that after filing a class-action lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban last Friday, lead plaintiff Jane Doe learned her embryo no longer had cardiac activity. Read more.

December 18, 2023: Attorneys Dismiss Class-Action Lawsuit Against Two Kentucky Abortion Bans

Attorneys dismissed a class-action lawsuit challenging two Kentucky abortion bans brought on behalf of lead plaintiff Jane Doe and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. Read more.

Initial Court Filings | December 8, 2023

Read the class-action challenge to Kentucky's abortion bans.

Read the class-action challenge to Kentucky's abortion bans filed by Jane Doe, a pregnant Kentuckian seeking an abortion, at the bottom of this page.

Notice of Voluntary Dismissal | December 18, 2023

Read the voluntary dismissal of Jane Doe v. Daniel Cameron.

Ready the voluntary dismissal of Jane Doe v. Daniel Cameron, the class-action challenge to Kentucky's abortion bans, at the bottom of this page.