Kentucky’s new abortion law faces first legal test

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s new law requiring doctors to perform an ultrasound exam before an abortion is about to get its first legal challenge in a federal courtroom in Louisville.

A judge will hear arguments Thursday on whether to order a temporary halt to the law passed by the state’s Republican-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Matt Bevin in January.

The law requires abortion providers to display and describe ultrasound images to pregnant women, though women can avert their eyes. The procedure also seeks to detect the fetal heartbeat, but women can ask that the volume of the heartbeat be reduced or turned off.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky claims the law violates privacy and First Amendment rights. Bevin calls it “sound legislation” and predicts it will hold up in court.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.