During her time with the ACLU of Kentucky, as both general counsel and board chair, Sara Pratt worked on many court cases for the organization. A case of particular interest for Pratt was one “Jane Doe.” In 1988, Jane Doe was pregnant and also had breast cancer. Her doctors said the pregnancy would put her health at risk and recommended she have both an abortion and a hysterectomy at the same time. Doe preferred to have the procedures done close to home, family, and friends. But, due to a Kentucky law, the Owensboro-Daviess County Hospital would not provide the abortion.
Pratt had been preparing with David Friedman for a case against one of Kentucky’s hospitals over their failure to provide the abortion services for which many Kentuckians were willing to pay. Due to the time-sensitive nature of abortion-related cases, Pratt had to scramble to get everything together to have a hearing for Doe’s case. The judge would eventually grant the abortion, and Pratt would go on to attempt to argue that Kentucky’s abortion law was unconstitutional.
Shortly after Doe’s case, however, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a Missouri abortion law almost identical to Kentucky’s. Doe’s case was dismissed. Pratt said she still thinks about Doe. On the case, Pratt said: “This was one of those cases where, although we ultimately lost the case, we made a difference for one woman. That’s not what we thought we would be able to do when the case began. It was, however, enough.”
During her time with the ACLU-KY, Pratt worked on cases involving free speech, racial justice, and disability rights. She now serves as deputy assistant secretary for Enforcement Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
July 30, 2015 - 9:38am
