Story highlights Kentucky HB2 required ultrasounds for pregnant women seeking an abortion

The state ordered the last open abortion clinic to close in March but a judge intervened

(CNN) A federal judge struck down a Kentucky anti-abortion law that required women to receive an ultrasound before they can legally have an abortion.

Western District of Kentucky Judge David Hale ruled Wednesday that the bill violates First Amendment rights and "appears to inflict psychological harm on abortion patients."

"Requiring physicians to force upon their patients the information mandated by HB2 has more potential to harm the psychological well-being of the patient than to further the legitimate interests of the Commonwealth," Judge Hale said in the ruling.

House Bill 2, enacted in January, required a physician or technician to perform an ultrasound, describe and display the ultrasound images to the mother, and provide audio of the fetal heartbeat to the mother before she could have an abortion. Its text said a pregnant woman may choose to avert her eyes from the images, and request the volume of the heartbeat be turned down or off.

ACLU lawsuit filed

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