Judge Ernesto Scorsone rules against Gov Matt Bevin, Kentucky lawsuit to close ‘filthy’ abortion clinic

A Kentucky judge has ruled that closing an abortion facility that state inspectors described as “filthy” is “against the public interest.” The lawsuit came from Gov. Matt Bevin’s office after the state Cabinet for Health and Family Service (CHFS) inspection at EMW Women’s Clinic in Lexington to discover improper licensing, one of the facility’s tables could spread infection between women, that some of its medication had expired in October 1997, and inspecting its “cleaning instruments revealed similarly filthy conditions,”

Horrible conditions in abortion clinics was highlighted during the Kermit Gosnell trial (photo supplied) by may be a broader problem

Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone ruled against the governor, saying evidence indicated “that EMW is operating legally” and that “closing the clinic is against the public interest.”

“EMW is the only physician’s office that routinely provides abortion services in the Eastern half of the state, and both parties agree that a right to an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy is constitutionally protected,” the judge wrote. “Closing EMW would have a severe, adverse impact on the women in the Eastern part of the state.”

The legal setback for Gov. Matt Bevin will allow EMW, which performed 411 of the state’s 3,187 abortions last year, to reopen.

The facility had not been inspected since the last Republican governor held office 10 years earlier. When inspectors arrived, an office employee told them they offer no other medical services besides abortion. Yet the owner, Dr. Ernest Marshall, said his business does not need to be licensed as an abortion facility because it is an all-purpose women’s health facility.

“The inspector found the facility in an unsanitary condition,” said CHFS Secretary Vickie Yates Glisson.

In Kentucky, the abortion industry is happy to be back in business.

“The clinic looks forward to opening,” EMW attorney Scott White said, “and our hope is the cabinet will accept this decree and not waste any more effort and money on an argument that clearly has no weight.”

Gov. Bevin’s spokeswoman, Jessica Ditto, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the governor plans to file for an emergency ruling with the Kentucky Court of Appeals in the state capital of Frankfort.