LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Supreme Court made their decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization one year ago. 

The landmark decision found that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion, eliminating decades of legal precedent.

What You Need To Know

  • Kentucky has banned nearly all abortions in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal

  • Since the ruling in Dobbs, 14 states have banned or severely restricted abortions

  • While anti-abortion groups praised Kentucky’s Trigger Law and Heartbeat Bill, abortion rights advocates have pursued legal challenges

  • Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey (D) rallied in Louisville to mark the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson

In 2015, Planned Parenthood built a recovery room in Louisville to help women after reproductive care. In 2023, it sits empty. 

But the fight isn’t over for Rev. Dr. Lauren Jones-Mayfield. 

“We are recommitting ourselves for this fight for equity, for justice, for reproductive care,” said Jones-Mayfield. 

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. Since then, 14 states have banned abortions and several others have added tight restrictions. 

Kentucky Right to Life released a statement Saturday morning saying, “We celebrate with deepest gratitude the first anniversary of the June 24, 2022 supreme court of the United States decision overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Jones-Mayfield has been a minister for fifteen years. She’s also an advocate for reproductive health care.

“To be a person of prayer, and to be a person that supports human rights and decency and equity and care for especially marginalized people, those two things go hand-in-hand,” she said. 

On Saturday morning, local advocates and Congressman Morgan McGarvey (D) gathered to discuss the impact of the Dobbs decision in Kentucky.

“We’re standing here in an empty recovery room, but that doesn’t mean women in Kentucky no longer need this service. It means they're either not getting it, they’re getting it through unsafe means, or they’re traveling to other states to get it. So we’ll keep fighting. We’ll keep pushing forward,” said McGarvey. 

McGarvey played a part in the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that Democrats in Washington hope to pass. It would allow women to receive reproductive health care and enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade into law. 

Currently, Kentucky has a Trigger Ban and Heartbeat Bill, which criminalizes abortions except to save the life of a pregnant person—even in cases of rape, incest, and fetal abnormalities. 

Jones-Mayfield uses the power of storytelling to help regain lost reproductive rights. 

“The more that we share our stories, the more that we are breaking down stigma. And there’s so much stigma around abortion and around faith,” said Jones-Mayfield. 

For her and many Kentuckians, the fight will continue on. 

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