The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a Kentucky law mandating that doctors show and describe ultrasound images and play an audible heartbeat of the fetus to patients seeking abortions, NBC News reports.

The big picture: The court declined to hear an appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Kentucky's lone abortion clinic. The ACLU argued the statute's only purpose is to coerce a patient into opting out of having an abortion, while defenders said it helps people make a well-informed decision.

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