Alabama can’t prosecute groups who help women travel to get an abortion, federal judge says
Protesters for women's rights hold a rally on the Alabama Capitol steps to protest a law passed the week before making abortion a felony in nearly all cases with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, Sunday, May 19, 2019, in Montgomery, Ala.
MONTGOMERY, Ala, (AP) — Alabama’s attorney general cannot prosecute people and groups who help Alabama women travel to other states to obtain abortions, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson sided with an abortion fund and medical providers who sued Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall after he suggested they could face prosecution under anti-conspiracy laws. Thompson’s ruling declared that such prosecutions would violate both the First Amendment and a person’s right to travel.
Marshall has not pursued any such prosecutions. However, he said he would “look at closely” whether facilitating out-of-state abortions is a violation of Alabama’s criminal conspiracy laws. The ruling was a victory for Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion assistance fund that had paused providing financial assistance to low-income people in the state because of the possibility of prosecution.
Alabama bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest.
“It is one thing for Alabama to outlaw by statute what happens in its own backyard. It is another thing for the state to enforce its values and laws, as chosen by the attorney general, outside its boundaries by punishing its citizens and others who help individuals travel to another state to engage in conduct that is lawful there but the attorney general finds to be contrary to Alabama’s values and laws,′ Thompson wrote in the 131-page opinion.
Thompson said it would be the same as the state trying to prosecute Alabamians planning a Las Vegas bachelor party since casino gambling is also outlawed in the state.
Yellowhammer Fund, an obstetrician and others had filed lawsuits seeking a court declaration that such prosecutions are not allowed.
“Today is a good day for pregnant Alabamians who need lawful out-of-state abortion care,” Jenice Fountain, executive director of Yellowhammer Fund, said in a statement. “The efforts of Alabama’s attorney general to isolate pregnant people from their communities and support systems has failed.”
A spokesperson for the Alabama attorney general’s office said, “the Office is reviewing the decision to determine the State’s options.”
United Nations leaders bemoan global turmoil as the General Assembly turns 80
On Saturday, the UNGA celebrated its 80th birthday in London. Speakers including U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed global uncertainty during the second term of President Trump.
Parts of Florida receive rare snowfall as freezing temperatures linger
Snow has fallen in Florida for the second year in a row.
European leaders warn Trump’s Greenland tariffs threaten ‘dangerous downward spiral’
In a joint statement, leaders of eight countries said they stand in "full solidarity" with Denmark and Greenland. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen added: "Europe will not be blackmailed."
Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
Syria's new leaders, since toppling Bashar Assad in December 2024, have struggled to assert their full authority over the war-torn country.
U.S. military troops on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota
The move comes after President Trump again threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to control ongoing protests over the immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream … about health care
A doctor from Nigeria tells what Martin Luther King Jr. taught him about health, Justice and inequality.
