DELAWAREÂ - The City of Seaford's fetal remains ordinance has been struck down in chancery court. The ordinance would have required women to cremate or bury fetal remains after an abortion.
That ordinance was passed after Planned Parenthood opened up in the city.
The City of Seaford says it is disappointing but will abide by the ruling.
The ACLU of Delaware is in strong support of Delaware's decision against Seaford's fetal remains ordinance.
"The court issued its opinion today stating that in fact Seaford's law is illegal and they have no rights to overrule the laws of the state and I think that's important because moving forward we could have seen other types of local ordinances passed in Seaford or other cities that wanted to regulate or disagree with abortion," said Executive Director Mike Brickner.
However, Seaford says the ordinance never had to do with the right to an abortion but what happens after.
A statement read:Â
"The City of Seaford was seeking a dignified way to handle fetal remains and we were advised may be a legal pathway to do so. We did not believe that disposing of fetal remains in a dignified manner would be controversial,"
Attorney-General Kathy Jennings says the ruling protects people in Seaford from what she calls a cruel policy.
Planned Parenthood --which has been providing abortion services at the Seaford facility--agrees.
"We saw this as nothing more than creating barriers for women and rather cruel barriers," said Ruth Lytle-Barnaby, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Delaware.
A statement from Seaford read:
"We attempted to work with the State to ensure that the Ordinance would be consistent with state law, without success; and we believed this issue should have, and could have, been resolved by legislation as opposed to litigation,"
This ruling comes at the same time the Delaware Senate passed House Bill 455 which would expand who can provide abortions and offer protection to women from out-of-state seeking services.
This week House Bill 460 was introduced -- which would make it a constitutional amendment to protect abortion, contraception, and LGBTQ rights.
The Delaware Family Policy Council --which is pro-life-- strongly opposes those bills.Â
A statement read:Â
"There’s a reason why Delaware has always required that medical doctors perform the invasive and high-risk surgical procedure of abortion. To now offer special insurance protections from liability for out-of-state patients and to expand who can perform abortions is a massive overhaul, making Delaware an abortion hotspot."
House Bill 455 heads to governor Carney's desk and House Bill 460 awaits a committee hearing.
