Bevin administration denies Planned Parenthood abortion license, says it broke law

The administration of Gov. Matt Bevin has refused to issue a license to Planned Parenthood to perform abortions at its Louisville clinic, claiming the reproductive health organization violated state law by temporarily providing abortions without a license almost four years ago.

Planned Parenthood disputes any violation of state law, saying state health officials under former Gov. Steve Beshear had authorized the procedure.

But in a letter Friday, Adam Meier, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, informed Planned Parenthood that the state is denying the license because the 23 previous abortions between December 2015 and January 2016 represent a "substantial failure" to comply with state law.

The decision comes amid an ongoing federal court battle in which Planned Parenthood alleges state officials, under Bevin, an anti-abortion Republican, are deliberately obstructing its efforts to get a license for abortion services. 

U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers in June ordered the state to expedite its review of  Planned Parenthood's license application and report back to him no later than Aug. 19 with a decision.

Earlier:Judge orders state to quit delaying on Planned Parenthood's abortion license

Meier's decision to refuse the license, filed three days before the judge's deadline, was blasted by the executive who oversees Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.

“While Governor Bevin is once again on the wrong side of history, we will continue to fight this decision and the slew of unpopular decisions that take away reproductive health care and abortion access in the commonwealth," CEO Chris Charbonneau said in a statement late Friday. "This decision shows the true motive, which is to purposefully place undue burdens on pregnant Kentuckians."

Cabinet spokeswoman Christina Dettman said state officials have no comment beyond "the clear statutory basis for the denial as stated in the letter sent to Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky."

Friday's decision is likely to escalate the court battle in which Planned Parenthood already had asked the judge to hold state officials in contempt of court for stalling its license application.

Planned Parenthood does not offer abortion services in Kentucky. The state's only abortion provider is EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville.

The battle over the license dates back to 2015, after Planned Parenthood moved into a new, larger clinic in downtown Louisville and sought a license to provide abortions from the administration of Beshear before he left office in late 2015.

Planned Parenthood officials produced documentation from state officials directing them to open the clinic and begin providing all services, including abortions, so it could be inspected and granted a license.

But the license had not been issued when Bevin took office in December 2015. His administration ordered Planned Parenthood to stop, saying such abortions were not authorized without a license.

Planned Parenthood immediately stopped providing abortions as it continued with its license application.

Related:Most state voters support access to abortion, Planned Parenthood poll says

The Bevin administration later sued Planned Parenthood, accusing it of providing illegal abortions, which the organization has denied. The lawsuit is pending in Jefferson Circuit Court.

Meanwhile, its fight to get a license continues in federal court.

Planned Parenthood's CEO on Friday accused the Bevin administration of trying to circumvent the federal judge, calling it a "blatant attempt to take the ongoing proceedings outside of the courts and bypass the authority of U.S. District Court Judge Greg Stivers."

Stivers, at a hearing in June, suggested he had become impatient with delays by the state in deciding whether to grant Planned Parenthood a license. 

"You better move this one up to the front of the line," Stivers told Chad Meredith, a lawyer for Bevin.

"Yes, sir. I understand," Meredith said, according to a transcript of hearing.

In a notice to the judge filed Friday, Meredith and lawyer M. Stephen Pitt, Bevin's general counsel, told the judge that the state had denied a license to Planned Parenthood and that he has no authority in the matter.

"Respectfully, this Court has no jurisdiction over the state licensing process," the notice said.

The state's denial comes amid an ongoing dispute over whether Kentucky abortion clinics must have "transport" and "transfer" agreements with an ambulance and hospital in the event of a medical emergency, as required by a 1998 state law.

The Bevin administration initially refused to grant Planned Parenthood a license, claiming it lacked adequate agreements.

It also sought to revoke EMW's license to provide abortions, claiming its transfer and transport agreements were "deficient." That would have made Kentucky the only state without a single abortion provider.

EMW provided about 3,000 abortions last year, according to data it provides to the state Vital Statistic Branch. Overall, the nation's abortion rate has fallen in recent years, dropping 26% between 2006 and 2015 among women aged 15 to 44 years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy group.

Background:Planned Parenthood: State is in contempt for refusing abortion license

In 2017, EMW and Planned Parenthood challenged in federal court the state law requiring transport and transfer agreements. Last year, Stivers struck down the law as an unconstitutional barrier to abortion services.

"The evidence presented here establishes clearly that scant medical benefits from transfer and transport agreements are far outweighed by the burden on Kentucky women seeking abortions," Stivers' opinion said.

The state has appealed the decision, arguing the agreements are necessary for the health and safety of patients.

Last week, a federal panel with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati heard arguments as to whether to affirm or overturn Stivers' ruling.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood claims the administration is working to block access to abortion, authorized by the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

"Governor Bevin is an outspoken opponent of abortion who promised during his gubernatorial campaign to rid Kentucky of the 'scourge' of abortion," Planned Parenthood said in a court filing earlier this year, asking the federal judge to hold administration officials in contempt of court.

While Stivers did not do so, he noted that some of the state's actions in the case involving transfer and transport agreements "could be called contempts," finding that the state had violated some of his previous orders involving the Planned Parenthood license. The state disputed that claim.

Planned Parenthood, in its court filing, said the denial of its license is part of an administration agenda against abortion rights evidenced by two new bills the governor signed into law earlier this year that would restrict or nearly eliminate the procedure in Kentucky.

Both have been temporarily blocked by U.S. District Judge David Hale after they were challenged as unconstitutional by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Bevin recently held a ceremonial bill signing to celebrate the bills. They are two of four bills passed this year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly to restrict or eliminate abortion.

"Given other recent developments in the commonwealth, there can be no doubt the defendants are attempting to eliminate access to abortion in Kentucky and will do everything possible to avoid granting Planned Parenthood an abortion facility license," it said in a court filing.

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Deborah Yetter: 502-582-4228; dyetter@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @d_yetter.