Judge Puts Temporary Hold on Abortion Restrictions
Two new Alabama laws restricting abortions were set to go into effect next month, but yesterday, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson blocked them, at least for now.
In the latest chapter of a long-running legal battle, an Alabama law banning a procedure called “dilation and evacuation” and one banning clinics within 2,000 feet of K-8 schools are on hold. They’d been set to take effect August 1, but Thompson issued a temporary restraining order to give the state time to respond to a legal challenge and to give the court more time to consider the case.
Two abortion providers, with help from the ACLU, are suing to have the laws declared unconstitutional. Dilation and evacuation, which the law banning it calls “dismemberment abortion,” is a common second-trimester procedure. The school-proximity ban could close two of Alabama’s five clinics, which account for well more than half the state’s abortions. Supporters of the ban say it protects young students from disruptive protests. Critics say it’s another way to make abortions hard or impossible to get.
Thompson’s order blocking enforcement of the restrictions would expire three weeks from an October 4 hearing.
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.
Alabama’s racial, ethnic health disparities are ‘more severe’ than other states, report says
Data from the Commonwealth Fund show that the quality of care people receive and their health outcomes worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
