Alabama’s Abortion Law Could be Bad for Business
Alabama’s abortion law has yet to go into effect, but it’s already causing ripples in the business community. The law makes performing an abortion in almost all cases a felony.
Officials with the City of Birmingham say it’s hurting the city’s ability to attract business.
Josh Carpenter, who heads economic development for the city, says two technology companies put plans to move to Birmingham on hold after the law was signed. He says companies considering a move look at things like facilities and labor costs. But he says quality of life is a factor too.
“One piece of it is can I see my family, my employees living here,” Carpenter says.
He says those two companies had difficulty answering that question.
“The reason why is because the women in those companies didn’t feel that Alabama was the type of place that would allow them to thrive,” Carpenter says.
Critics of Alabama’s abortion ban used #BoycottAlabama on social media to urge people not to buy Alabama-made products or travel to the state. A Maryland official wants the state’s pension system to divest from Alabama-based companies. The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors passed a one-year ban on travel to Alabama for official business.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey says she doesn’t think the abortion law will hurt business. State tourism director Lee Sentell agrees. He spoke at a press conference Monday touting growth in the state’s travel industry.
“We’re going to continue to market Alabama in the very same positive way we have, to talk about the hospitality and friendliness,” Sentell says. “I think we will continue to have a very strong tourism product.”
Emory University economist Tom Smith says it’s possible the law could hurt Alabama business. He cites North Carolina’s 2016 “bathroom bill,” which was criticized as discriminatory against LGBTQ people. The NBA pulled its All-Star game from Charlotte the following year. They held the game there this year after the state repealed parts of the law.
Smith says the abortion law won’t necessarily keep all businesses away. Alabama might just have to work harder to get them here.
“Will the state have to add more, let say, tax incentives to get a company to move there? And they very well might,” Smith says.
Smith says it’s notable at least seven other states have passed laws significantly restricting abortion. So for companies that consider this a negative, that knocks several states out of the running, not just Alabama. Still, companies weigh many factors when considering a move. Smith says any number of those, including a state’s politics, can be a tipping point.
Photo by Rawpixel
A proposed Bessemer data center faces new hurdles: a ‘road to nowhere’ and the Birmingham darter
With the City Council in Bessemer scheduled to vote Tuesday on a “hyperscale” data center, challenges from an environmental group and the Alabama Department of Transportation present potential obstacles for the wildly unpopular project.
Birmingham Museum of Art’s silver exhibit tells a dazzling global story
Silver and Ceremony is made up of more than 150 suites of silver, sourced from India, and some of their designs.
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
