A recently opened Planned Parenthood facility is performing unlicensed abortions, Kentucky’s new Republican governor says.
Gov. Matt Bevin said Friday that his office has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Planned Parenthood center in downtown Louisville that opened last month. In a statement released Thursday night, Bevin said the group is “openly and knowingly operating an unlicensed abortion facility in clear violation of the law.”
“We will use the full force of the commonwealth to put a stop to this,” he said. “There is no room in Kentucky for this kind of blatant disregard for proper legal procedure.”
Planned Parenthood hasn’t said whether it received a license from the state of Kentucky. Rather, a representative responded that the clinic has applied for one and “commenced services under the guidance of the Office of the Inspector General, the state office that is responsible for licensing health facilities.”
The new clinic is the second in Kentucky to offer abortions.
“We knew we were functioning in a really important community where there’s a great unmet need,” said Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
