Federal Judge Blocks Alabama Abortion Law
A federal judge blocked Alabama’s strict abortion ban Tuesday, which was set to go into effect next month. U.S District Judge Myron Thompson issued a primary injunction Tuesday against the law, which would have made performing an abortion a felony in almost all cases. Abortion providers would face a sentence of up to 99 years in prison with no exception for rape or incest. The only exception is when there’s a serious health risk to the woman.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the law in May. Supporters of the law say it’s designed to challenge the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, Planned Parenthood and others sued in federal court arguing the near-total ban is unconstitutional.
“As expected, the court has blocked the law and it will not go into effect. Abortion remains legal in Alabama,” ACLU of Alabama Executive Director Randall Marshall said.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall echoed that the judge’s action was not a surprise.
“As we have stated before, the State’s objective is to advance our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we intend to submit evidence that supports our argument that Roe and Casey were wrongly decided and that the Constitution does not prohibit states from protecting unborn children from abortion,” Marshall said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Ivey said in a statement she supports the attorney general. “This legislation passed with overwhelming support in the Alabama Legislature and was signed into law as a testament to Alabamians’ longstanding belief that every human life is sacred. We must continue doing all we can to protect life,” Ivey said.
Alabama’s law was one of several passed in states across the country this year that aimed to restrict abortion rights.
BREAKING: We just blocked Alabama’s abortion ban.
With this federal court ruling, it’s official: None of the state abortion bans passed earlier this year are in effect.
Abortion remains legal in all 50 states.
— ACLU (@ACLU) October 29, 2019
Updated 12:20 p.m. with statement from Gov. Ivey
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
