FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky's Republican governor has signed a measure putting new restrictions on abortion, and his lawyers filed a response to a lawsuit already aimed at blocking it.

Before Gov. Matt Bevin signed the measure, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the legislation in a federal lawsuit. The new law bans abortion for women seeking to end their pregnancies because of the gender, race or disability of the fetus.

The measure took effect upon Bevin's signature Tuesday.

The ACLU says the law removes a woman's right to an abortion if the state "disapproves of her reason" for the procedure. The ACLU is asking a judge to block the law.

In their response, Bevin's attorneys say the ACLU's arguments are a "perverse distortion" of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

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