LOUISVILLE — A Jefferson County judge has been asked to rule on whether the informed consent requirement in a 1998 abortion law means women must personally visit a clinic 24 hours before having the procedure.

        County Circuit Judge Ann O'Malley Shake heard Monday from a lawyer representing the state's medical licensing board, arguing that doctors who perform abortions should decide for themselves how to comply with the informed consent requirement — and let the board decide later if they were wrong.

        But a lawyer for the doctors said they shouldn't have to bet their medical licenses on their own interpretation of the law and urged the judge to give abortion providers a declaratory opinion.

        The case is the second involving a Kentucky law that requires abortion clinics to provide counseling and information to women at least 24 hours before performing the procedure. Doctors who don't comply could lose their medical licenses.

        The law has never been enforced because of the court cases.

        Last year, U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II ruled the law was constitutional. But Judge Heyburn didn't rule whether the law requires women to visit personally the clinic 24 hours before having the procedure for an initial counseling and information session, or whether they can get that information over the telephone.

        The suit in Jefferson Circuit Court seeks to answer that question.

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