No abortions reported in Kentucky during February

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) – There were no abortions reported to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services in February.

In a letter to Kentucky Today, a representative for the Cabinet noted that there were no records responsive to an Open Records Request submitted in March, stating: “The Cabinet’s Office of Vital Statistics has noted that, so far, zero (0) abortions have been reported to their office for the month of February 2023.”

Under Kentucky law, abortions must be reported to the Office of Vital Statistics within three days after the end of the month in which the abortion occurred.

February is the fourth month where no abortions were reported to the Cabinet since Kentucky’s trigger abortion ban was enforced on August 1, 2022. A total of five abortions have been reported in the seven months that followed: one in August, two in October and two in January 2023.

Under the ban, abortions are permitted to protect the life and health of the mother. The exception allows physicians to perform an abortion if he or she decides, within “reasonable medical judgment,” that the abortion is necessary to prevent death, a substantial risk of death or serious damage to a life-sustaining organ of the pregnant woman.

All data related to abortions provided in Kentucky are made available to the public through the Open Records Act.