In Kentucky, no legal abortions reported in March

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) – There were no abortions reported to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services during March 2024.

In an email sent to Kentucky Today on April 18, a representative for the Cabinet noted there were no records to fulfill an open records request submitted on April 11: “After a diligent search, the Cabinet determined that it possesses no records responsive to your request. The Cabinet cannot furnish records that do not exist.”

Under Kentucky law, abortions must be reported to the Office of Vital Statistics within three days of the end of the month in which the abortion occurred. Abortion data provided by the Cabinet does not track or report self-managed abortions that happen in the commonwealth.

March is the 11th month without reported abortions since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022, triggering Kentucky’s abortion ban, which has been enforced since August 2022. Currently, no legal abortions have been reported to the Cabinet for 2024.

Abortions are permitted in Kentucky 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.