State awaits ruling on temporary injunction against abortion clinic

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – No decision Wednesday from a Fayette circuit judge in Lexington on the state’s request for a temporary injunction to keep abortions from being performed at EMW Women’s Clinic in Lexington while a lawsuit is heard. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services filed the suit March 3, 2016, claiming the clinic is illegally performing abortions without a license, is unsanitary and had expired medication in its procedure room. The suit also claims the clinic doesn’t have a required emergency transfer agreement in place with an ambulance service.

The question before the judge is, does the clinic need a license? The state’s lawyers argued “yes,” during Wednesday’s 5-hour hearing, saying the clinic performs hundreds of abortions a year and must be regulated by the state. The doctor who owns the clinic, Dr. Ernest Marshall, testified that he considered it a private doctor’s office, which would exempt it from needing a state license. Dr. Marshall says in the nearly 30-years the clinic has been open in Lexington, it has never had a license.

The attorney for the clinic says it won’t perform any abortions until a ruling is made.